Blak Nites: Second Stage
by BlakNites240
Summary: There back in Japan and their ready to kick it up a notch with harder teams and stronger opponents. Also, Mei is working on a project that will double not only the strength of the Nites, but also their numbers. Also, Reviews are appreciated.
1. Back to Blak

_Time goes on. Winter comes and goes. The months past and the mountain roads become clear once again. Mid spring is now here. This is where they return. The winter has not changed them at all. They're still the Blak Nites._

_11:03 pm. Springs first perfect night. Tires screech. Engines roar. The sound of the Black Mazda RX7 FC3S TurboII belonging to Nik of the Nites is heard coming off the first hairpin turn on Myogi. Headlights shine behind him._

_The second Nite, Mei, is seen as his back end slides far out towards the rail as his White Nissan Skyline GT-R32 is heard coming around the turn. His body straightens out as yet another set of headlights shine behind him. _

_Although slightly slower than the other two cars, the Black Toyota Trueno AE86, now belonging to Al, comes around the corner and exits faster then the other two, due to the N/A engine._

_Winter wasn't very hard on the Nites. They all had gone home for the holidays and returned. Nik and Mei had worked extensively on their snow drifting techniques as Al continued to do his deliveries for the Tea shop. _

_Jobs hadn't come as easy. Although Mei and Al still held down their jobs, Nik hadn't been as lucky. It was getting to the point where he was going to have to start working at a fast food restaurant just to afford gas._

_Nik hadn't been too lucky in the love department either. Although Mei and Sara's relationship had blossomed once again and Al and Miki had continued their steady relationship, Nik had not had a relationship since what he called 'The Kim Incident'._

_I suppose it could be said that Nik was the unhappy Nite. He barley smiled anymore and he spent most of his time sitting around in his underwear watching TV. He didn't hate his life, but he was far from liking it. _

_And this is where we pick them up. There lives, stable...mostly. Their cars, high revving...kinda. Their abilities peaked...barely. Alright screw it; let's see if they stay alive through this shit..._

* * *

Nik turned the wheel lightly to left as he let off the gas and coasted into the three car garage. He saw the R32 as well as the Hachiroku follow him in. He stepped out of his car and looked over at his teammates. 

He said with a partial smile, "Nice run guys."

Mei stepped out of the R32 with a smile, "That's a good start to our summer as number 2 on Myogi."

Al stepped out of the 86 with the same attitude, "Hell yeah, we're gonna hold down number 2."

Nik shrugged, "For now at least..."

The Nites walked into the house through the garage entrance which led them to the kitchen. As Mei and Al walked into their separate rooms, Nik noticed a blinking light on the answering machine.

He walked over and pressed the button, beginning the message. He couldn't believe what he heard. It said, "_Hi, this is Nakazato Takeshi of the Myogi Night Kids. We heard that you beat White lightning before the start of winter. I wanted to congratulate you. Also, I want to talk to you guys. Your helping us uphold the respect of Myogi now. We just want you to be clear on that. Meet me tomorrow night at 10 in the parking lot at the peak._"

Nik lost his breath for a moment. This was amazing. Being challenged by a team as skilled as the Night Kids...well, reputation wise they kinda suck, but they are a decent team.

Nik remembered what Kanryu had told him at the end of their battle before winter. He remembered a lot about it. He had told him not to settle. What Mei and Al said in the garage; that was settling. What would be pushing ahead would be challenging the Night Kids to a battle for there title.

Nik shook his head. That was a stupid idea. He only raced for the fun of it. On the other hand, racing a good team would be fun. It would be challenging and exciting. It was just fun.

Nik shook his head once more. He was tired. He knew he wasn't thinking clearly. He stood up and nearly walked away when he turned around and looked at the answering machine. He walked over and deleted the message. He didn't want the guys to see it.

He walked into his room and pulled his shirt off his back. He fell onto his bed, his eyes slowly closing. He had to try and get some sleep. It would make him able to think tomorrow morning...

* * *

Alex rolled over and slapped his alarm clock as it went off. He groggily lifted his body off the mattress and put himself on his feet. He quickly dressed before exiting his room, the Hachiroku keys in hand. 

He slid into the set of the Hachiroku and pulled the belt across his shoulder. He started the car and let out his usual disappointed sigh. His car was fine; it was just the lack of power that he didn't like.

The Hachiroku, as it sat, had 115 hp, as well as 97 ft-lbs of torque. It had 105 less hp than the FC and 165 less than the now turbocharged R32. There was also a gap between the torque by 160 ft-lbs on the R32 and110 with the FC.

Al had one problem he had to contend with. Money. He had none. He hadn't seen one paycheck from the tea shop. They were all sent to the house. Mei had cleaned out the car fund to afford the R32, so that left him with no money available to upgrade his car.

He sighed and backed out of the garage. He made his way down the mountain and towards the tea house. He picked everything up and quickly took care of his morning deliveries.

Al pulled back into the garage later that morning and walked into the kitchen. He saw Nik staring into a cup of black coffee. He looked worried and distraught about something.

Al sat next to him, "What's wrong bro?"

Nik continued to look down at his coffee, "Nothing..."

"Stop lying, what's the matter?"

"We were invited to go talk to the Night Kids. Nakazato left a message on our machine."

"How did he get our number?"

"It doesn't matter, the thing is... I want to challenge them."

"Nik, man, do you even remember how long ago you had the race with Kanryu? Ever since then you've only gone up against Mei and that was racing in the snow."

"Yeah, I know. I'm a little out of practice, but still, I can race. Not to mention my motto, 'win or lose, just drive'."

"So this would be just something we'd do for fun, right?"

"Right, no pressure."

"Well, we still have to ask Mei. This would be not only a downhill, but an uphill battle as well."

"Exactly, it would pit R32 against R32. The GT-R race, meaning it would be left up to who is the better driver."

"Yeah, but then me or you have to race Shingo Shouji."

Nik sighed, "Yeah, the dirtiest driver around..."

"I could probably take him."

Nik looked up, "No, you're not skilled enough."

"Nik!"

"I'm serious, if he pulls something crazy, you'll be sitting at the bottom of Myogi."

"I could handle myself..."

"It all boils down to the fact that I've had more experience."

"I've been drifting since I was thirteen!"

"And I've been drifting since I was fourteen, and now I'm 22 and you're seventeen."

"Fine, you're the team leader, it's your decision."

"Why thank you."

A groggy and half naked Mei walks into the kitchen, "Yo."

Nik looks over at him, "Hey, you wanna challenge the Night Kids?"

Mei yawns loudly as he pours his coffee, "When?"

"Tonight, probably meaning we're racing on Saturday."

Mei walked away from the kitchen and into his room, "Ok."

Nik smiled, "I guess everything's gonna be A-o..."

"WHAT!"

* * *

_Later that Night..._

The Blak Nites cars pulled into the upper parking lot of Mt. Myogi and parked opposite from the Night Kids. Nik stepped out of his FC and looked across at Shingo and Nakazato, sitting on their cars hoods.

Nik approached them, Mei walking a pace behind him on his right, Al two paces behind him on his left. They stop as the here Nakazato say, "I'm glad you showed up."

Nik nodded, "Yeah."

He put his hand out, "Nakazato Takeshi, leader of the Myogi Night Kids."

Nik shook his hand, "Hogashinu Nikorasu, leader of the Myogi Blak Nites."

"The reason we called you up here tonight is to make sure you understand some things about us. You're not the top team on Myogi, we are."

"Actually, we wanted to talk to you about changing that."

Nakazato looked him down, "You want to challenge us."

"Yeah, to two races. An uphill and a downhill, right here on Myogi."

"What happens if it's a tie?"

"We run a sudden-death match, winner take all."

Nakazato opened his mouth but Shingo spoke first, "Sounds like fun."

Nik looked at Shingo. He had a devilish grin on his face. Shingo stood up off of the hood of his EG-6 and walked over to him. Shingo then pointed at his FC, "your ride?"

Nik nodded. Shingo sighed, "You're just as bad as the rest of them."

"What do you mean?"

"You're a pathetic FR driver. Even if you're good at drifting this thing, the fact still remains that it's FR, causing more problems then its worth."

Nik clenched his fist, "Like...?"

"In my Civic, I know I'm not going to oversteer too much and spin out due to my constant road grip. Besides that, I wont understeer because unlike an FR, where you're forcing the rear tires to follow the front, my rear tires automatically follow my front because it's FF. Face it, an FR is only good for drifting, not racing."

Al opened his mouth quickly, "Then how'd you lose to the 86 of Akina?"

Shingo stopped and looked over at the kid. With an evil glare in his eyes, he said, "I made a stupid move at the end because I didn't realize how easy it would be to pass him on the inside of the corner, ok?"

Al smirked, "You keep telling yourself that..."

Shingo looked over to him, "Listen you stupid punk, I'm gonna..."

Nik looked at Al, "Shut up before you get beat."

Al returned to his spot on the hood of his 86. Shingo looked over at Nik again, "Well, you and me on the downhill?"

Nik nodded, "Right."

Takeshi looked towards Mei, "And you'll race me on the uphill?"

Mei nodded, "I s'pose."

"Good, Saturday night then, meet us here." Takeshi began to get into his R32 when he looked back at the Nites, "Bring you're A-game, you'll need it."

They sat and watched as the Night Kid's left Myogi's summit and drove down the mountain. Nik sighed, "Jesus Christ..."

Al looked at him, "What's he got anything to do with it?"

Nik smiled, "You guys wanna go home?"

Al nodded but Mei shook his head, "Can't, got a date."

Nik looked over at him with a cold stare, "Go then."

Mei looked back at him, "Man, just because I'm happy, doesn't mean you gotta get all pissed at me."

Nik sighed, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

Mei shook his head, "It's fine, I'll see ya'll tomorrow."

* * *

Mei got into his R32 and drove away from Mt. Myogi. He quickly got to the Highway and began to drive towards Mt. Tochigi. He knew she'd be waiting. He accelerated hard like he always would in his GT-R. 

It took him little less then 45 minutes to get there. He began to climb to the summit on Tochigi's uphill road. Tochigi was a single lane road. One road went up, another went down. The summit was an Inn called "The Tochigi Inn."

Mei pulled into the parking lot that sat on the summit and saw all three cars sitting there. He got out and smiled at all of them, "How are you guys doing?"

A young Brazilian man stepped out of asilver Nissan Skyline ER33, "Tired, because you made us wait once again."

Mei sighed, "I live in Myogi, it's a bit of a ride to get here."

An American woman who sat on the hood of ared Mazda RX-7 FD3S said, "Yeah, Yeah, we've heard it before Mei."

Mei sighed, "Where's Sara?"

A middle-aged Japanese man stepped out of a Green Nissan Silvia S-14, "Late, just like her boyfriend."

Mei then heard the engine of Sara's Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV come up the climbing side. He watched as she parked and then quickly ran over to him with a smile and kissed him. The girl who was on the FD said, "Awww."

Mei looked over at her as he reluctantly released Sara, "Why don't all of you just shut up and start driving."

They all got into their respective cars and drove off. All the car's except the FD and S-14 drove down the mountain. Mei looked at the FD and S-14 drivers before he went down the mountain "Don't die..."

They nodded as they started there engines and began to drive down the mountain very quickly. The S-14 led with the FD tailing. They entered the first downhill corner at top speeds.

The S-14 initiated a feint drift, along with the FD. Both cars exited quickly, the S-14 still leading. The S-14 driver looked in his rear view mirror, noticing the smirk of the FD driver.

He smirked, "Sorry kid, not this time."

He drifted aggressively into the first set of Tochigi hairpins. His technique was a slightly. The FD followed with a tighter, more strategic drift.

The S-14 driver sighed, '_She's toying with me. Why!'_

The S-14 used the built up inertia from the other hairpins to send him through the next two. The FD followed, while sliding slightly more then the S-14. Both cars geared up as they approached Tochigi's right/left/right turn.

Both cars broke into the first right and powered around it as they went towards the next. While the FD slid more then the S-14 once again. He knew his line was tighter, but she followed with a very fast technique, as well as a more powerful car.

He approached the next corner as he heel/toe downshifted. He then steered into the corner. The FD followed with a long slide. They exited the corner with very little room between them.

They sighed as the entered a set of seven continuous hairpins. The S-14 driver feathered the throttle around the first two hairpins. The FD driver broke more, as could be seen from the excessive tire smoke.

Both FR drivers drove hard in to the rest of the corners, the S-14 increasing the lead slightly. His technique was much more strategic. His moves were technical and they were executed as if he was a circuit racer.

On the other hand, the FD slid a lot, more like a person trained in the art of drifting. Although her moves flowed, they were excessive when it came to the braking. She slowed down excessively in order to create the perfect angle.

Yet, she still seemed to be catching up. She wasn't keeping her speed especially high, yet it was constant. She never slowed down much lower then 90 mph. Her drift was the epiphany of perfection.

The came out of the hairpins and headed past the halfway point where Mei's R32 sat. Mei clicked his stopwatch as they drove by. He looked down at it as their tail lights slid around the next corner. He smiled.

They attacked the left hand corner with great technique. Both cars entered the next turn with equal power and grace. The FD's power brought it within a single car length from the S-14.

They approached a set of two hairpins and drifted into them both with a lot of acceleration. They powered out quickly. They approached a sharp right which was followed by another hairpin.

There drifts were tight in dealing with the tight, dual lane road. Their cars were pushing the limit the entire way down. Soon the FD driver saw a flicker in her rear-view mirror.

As they entered the next downhill turn, the white R32 came into perfect view. Both cars began to accelerate more quickly. They entered the next corner with the R32 still closing.

The S-14 driver noticed the FD was shakier then before. He looked ahead and tried to keep his composure. He entered a hard, right turn and he could feel the R32 hunting him down.

Two more corners went by before the R32 attempted a pass on the FD. He attacked from the outside of the corner and the FD slowed down, with the R32 pulling ahead. He gripped the next corner and found the R32 catching up to him.

He was sweating. The pressure was beating down on him. He entered the next right with his back sliding more then he wanted. He adjusted angrily and ended up accelerating too much, increasing his oversteer.

He sighed as he began to calm down after the last corner. He entered the next one with a clearer head. He then noticed the R32 which followed him on his left side into the right hand turn.

He accelerated but then approached the second corner, a left. They entered and the R32's superior four-wheel grip pushed him through the corner faster and he came out ahead. Although the S-14 attempted to catch up, the R32 slid around the second corner and sped away before he could catch up.

He sighed and flashed his blinkers at the FD to show her he'd been passed. They slowed down and pulled into the parking lot which sat at the bottom of the mountain. This parking lot belonged to The Tochigi Restaurant.

The FD driver and S-14 driver stepped out of their cars and looked over at the ER33 driver. The FD driver demanded, "Time."

The driver of the ER33 looked at his stopwatch, "You got 3:35:21 and Sato got 3:33:26."

Sato looked angrily at Mei, "And him?"

The ER33 driver smiled, "3:24:15"

Sato looked over at him, "How is it that you can beat us every time?"

Mei smiled, "Superior Technique."

The FD driver looked over at him, "What about my power?"

"Once again, technique. All of you have to learn that there is a perfect balance between grip and drift. You just have to find it."

The entire group nodded as they looked upon Mei, Pupils to Master. Mei nodded, "Uphill team, you're on."

Sara and the ER33 driver stepped into their cars and began to drive up the uphill side of Mt. Tochigi. Mei watched as their taillights disappeared around the first corners.

Mei looked over at the FD driver, "Why haven't you told him you're here yet?"

She sighed, "I'm waiting."

"Waiting for what?"

"The perfect moment, He busted into my life at the perfect time, I plan to do the same when I break back into his."

"Smooth, very smooth. Do you think he'll notice you without the GT2?"

She smirked, "I got a feeling he'll know."

Mei met her smirk. He sighed, "A lot has changed about him since we came back. I'd bet he's probably at home in his underwear eating rice and watching TV as we speak..."

* * *

Nik adjusted his boxers as he leaned back on the couch and picked up his bowl of rice. He reached onto the coffee table and picked up the remote as he began to flip through the channels. 

Nik sighed as he got to a racing channel. It was a rally. He watched as the camera followed the blue Subaru Impreza around a snowy right hand turn. He sighed as he took another bite of his race.

Al walked into the room a second later in similar attire. He sat down in an easy chair that sat to the left of Nik. Nik looked over at him, "Sup?"

Al shook his head, "Eh, not much, just got off the phone with Miki."

Nik nodded as he looked back at the TV, "Kool."

Al nodded, "Hey Nik?"

Nik said, "Yup?"

"What ever happened to the money from my tea deliveries in the morning?"

"I saved it."

"Really? How much did you get for that job?"

"2,250 yen per delivery."

"Wow! Is that a lot?"

Nik shook his head, "It's about 20 bucks US."

"That's not bad especially for three deliveries a day."

Nik nodded, "Yup, but moneys been crappy since I lost my job and you're only doing a single delivery per day."

"We'll, how much have I earned?"

"Do the math."

Al began to think, "20 USD times 31 days times 7..."

Nik sighed, "4,340 American bucks."

Al's eyes widened, "Holy shit!"

Nik sighed, "Watch your language."

"How much is that in yen?"

"A couple hundred short of a half-mil."

"WOW!"

"Could you keep your voice down?"

"Why don't I see a cent of that cash?"

"Because Al, we're poor."

"But..."

"We have to pay insurance on three cars and the house, then there's electricity and water and blah, blah, blah."

"But Mei transferred his American account here."

"Yeah, that gives us 10,000 American, which is a little over a million here. A million yen sounds like a lot, but ain't."

"But..."

"Look, until I get a job, we can't spend any money on cars. I'm sorry."

"How the fuck were you able to customize the FC and Sil-80 then!"

"Stop yelling at me. That was when we first got here. The reason we're poor was because of those cars."

"We'll, stop being so fucking money conscious. I need to fix up this car. I'm not a strong competitor with a stock 86."

"Look, I understand the lack of power is a set back, but..."

"The thing doesn't have one upgrade."

"Not one, huh?"

"What?"

Nik stood up, "Follow me."

Nik walked out to the garage. He walked around to the other side of his FC and bent down in front of the Hachiroku's left front tire. He pointed behind the tire and looked at Al, "Look."

Al looked behind the tire and his eye's widened. He read the spring's manufacturer sticker, "Tanabe?"

Nik nodded, "On all four tires, now pop the hood."

Al did as instructed. He then looked upon the stock 86 engine with his brother, "I don't see anything."

Nik pointed at the fuel pump, "Walboro."

Al's eyes widened, "Holy..."

Nik then pointed to the air filter, "K&N."

Al looked over at Nik, "You did all this?"

Nik nodded, "As well as installed a new muffler, Matrix."

"Why does it still feel so weak?"

"It still only has about 140 hp. I was prepping it for a turbo but I got side-tracked when you showed up."

"How much would the turbo cost?"

"150,000 for a bolt-on kit, plus 45,000 for a turbo manifold."

"How much power would that give me?"

"I'd mark it around 180, 185."

Al sighed, "That still feels weak..."

"Well, there is one other option..."

"What is it?"

"Calm down, you could install an additional supercharger in it."

"Really!"

Nik nodded, "Yeah, but that would cost 200,000 yen for the kit."

"That'd be..."

"Basically 400,000 yen."

"How much would the power would I get?"

"With the turbo, probably 240 HP."

Al smiled, "That'd be perfect."

Nik sighed, "You do realize that would mean taking nearly a third of the money we have to live on, right?"

"Please Nik?"

Nik sighed, "I don't know..."

"Come on Nik, I want to be able to race like you and Mei."

Nik sighed, "I will admit, you do need the power, and it's a lot cheaper then just buying you a new car..."

Al smiled, "So?"

"I'll think about it."

"You'll think about it."

"You get that much out of me, now go the fuck to bed. You got school tomorrow you dumb shit."

Al smiled and walked back into the house. Nik smiled as he shut the hood and then leaned on the FC. He looked over at the windshield as if it was another person. He raised an eyebrow, "Do you think I'm money conscious?"

* * *

I realize I kinda just dropped a BN X-mas, but that's because of personal reasons. I needed to get back to my roots of writing about racing. I hope you enjoy it. Till then, Gohan gaitei wo doko desu ka? 


	2. Corolla Day

Alex drove around a left hand corner on Mt. Akina quickly. He really wanted to get home. He yawned as he downshifted and turned into a hairpin right. He accelerated out quickly and rubbed his arms. He was freezing.

Al reached over and turned on the heat before braking into the next hairpin. He wasn't noticing, but these corners had slowly become easy to him. He could handle them at low speeds without even thinking.

Al then saw taillights shining behind him. He smiled as he watched the white Hachiroku come into sight. The white 86 tandemed into the corner with him. The car slid hard.

Al looked over at him and he waved his hand. He noticed the other 86 driver look over at him. The other 86 slowed down as they entered the last of the hairpin turns.

The 86 flashed its blinkers in an indication to park on the left bank. Al slowed down behind the panda 86 and dropped into the bank. Al flipped on his blinkers before stepping out of his 86 and looking at the driver opposite of him.

Al smiled, "You're really good."

He smiled, "Thanks, you're pretty good yourself."

Al nodded, "Yeah, but a higher powered car like yours makes you a much better competitor."

He nodded, "Yeah, I used to drive it with no upgrades until I blew the engine, then my dad put a new, more powerful one in it."

Al nodded, "That's cool, my brother is thinking of letting me upgrade this car too."

He nodded, "Ok, maybe some time we can drive town the mountain together."

Al sighed, "You'd beat me easily..."

He shook his head, "You always have a chance."

Al smiled, "Thanks, I'll see you around. My name's Hogashinu Alex."

He nodded before stepping back in his trueno, "Mine's Fujiwara Takumi. Bye!"

Al watched as the taillights disappeared around the corner. Al walked back over to the Hachiroku and slid into the driver's seat. He drove forward once again. He yawned as he approached the 4 deadly hairpins.

* * *

Nik walked into the kitchen as Al sat eating cereal. Al smiled at him, "What's up?"

Nik shook his head, "Not much, you almost ready for school?"

Al nodded, "Yup. You going job hunting again?"

Nik nodded as he picked up the paper, "I'm gonna try..."

Al smiled encouragingly, "Good luck."

Nik smirked, "You're only saying that because you want your upgrades..."

Al smiled innocently. He went back to his cereal as Nik browsed through the classified ads. He sighed, '_Truck driver, nurse, nurse, secretary, nurse, nurse, waiter, waiter, cashier..._'

"No job hunting today."

Nik looked up at Mei, "I have to."

Mei shook his head, "Rest and clear your head. We've got an important race tomorrow and you've been worrying a lot lately."

Nik sighed, "I'll be fine, and finding a job is more important then a race..."

Mei put his hand on Nik's head, "You feeling ok?"

Nik smirked, "Cut the shit."

"Sorry, I'm just not used to seeing you not stoked for a race."

"I just wanna make sure our lives are stable."

"Alright then." He looked at Al, "Let's go."

* * *

Al nodded and said goodbye to Nik before going out to his Hachiroku. He got into his car and began to drive down the mountain. He soon saw a set of flashing headlights shining behind him.

Al looked at the headlights as they followed him around a left hand corner. He blinked as the car came closer to him. Al's eyes widened, "Wow, its fast. It looks like a Silvia or a Skyline, but it sounds different..."

Another corner had the car closing quicker. Al accelerated. It felt dangerous to him, driving at high speeds during the day. It was lucky that it was a weekday, but he still had to be cautious.

Al accelerated into a right hand turn and accelerated hard. He kept to his own lane as the following car came up the inside. Al downshifted and entered on the inside of the next, left hairpin.

As his pursuer followed him into the left hairpin, Al noticed the car brand. It was a Levin, a Levin 86. Al was surprised at the power of the red Hachiroku. Al took an immediate right hairpin that followed the left.

Al hid on the outside of the turn as he entered on the left hand turn. The Levin drove on the inside with a lot of acceleration. He pulled past him quickly before returning to the left lane.

Al sighed as he let off the accelerator, dropping back to 3rd gear. He sighed as he turned left towards Myogi village. He sighed and accelerated towards the high school. He parked in his usual spot and walked over to where Miki was standing with her friends.

Al followed her into the building and over to his first class. He sat and listened to his instructor as he doodled in his notebook. He got up when the bell rang and saw Miki staring at his notebook.

Al looked up at her, "What's wrong?"

She pointed to his notebook, "What the hell were you writing?"

Al looked down at his notebook. He read it, _Toyota Levin AE86, 4AGE engine, turbocharged and supercharged..." _That was repeated down the paper. Al's eyes widened, "That's it!"

"What's it?"

"Nothing, don't worry about it. Where are we going now?"

"Gym, and we're gonna be late if you don't hurry up."

Al got up and followed Miki to the locker rooms before they split up. Al got changed while wondering he had realized his conclusion. He shook his head. It didn't matter.

He got through the rest of the day without any complications. He walked out to his 86 with Miki on his arm. He had to drive her home before he took her to work. He sighed as he parked in her driveway and waited for her.

She came out five minutes later. He put the car in reverse and drove towards the Gotsu restaurant. He never felt comfortable driving there after what happened between Nik and Maka, but he slowly got over it.

Al stopped in front of the restaurant and walked inside with Miki. He kissed her before she walked in the back. He sat down and ordered a coffee as he heard someone yelling in the back kitchen.

"Maka, please!"

"No, I refuse to give you any money! You should stop racing."

"I can't, besides you; it's all I have left."

"What about the restaurant? What about mom and dad's restaurant?"

"Maka, stop holding onto something that's not there. You know you hate it here."

Al heard a faint weeping sound, "I don't want to forget them..."

"Fine, I'm out of here. I'll get the money somehow else. Bye."

"Kei!"

He heard the door slam. Al got up and opened the door that led into the warm kitchen. He looked over at Maka, "Are you ok?"

Maka's eyes lead up to him. She wiped her eyes but the tears didn't stop, "No..."

Al walked over and held her in his arms, "It's gonna be ok, don't worry."

She shook her head, "No, it's not. He's going to end up like our parents..."

"He's your brother?"

She nodded as she backed away from him, "Yeah, my younger brother."

Al walked her outside and sat down on a set of steps with her. He tried to console her before he heard the sound of an engine. It was a large 4AGE. A turbo and a super...

Al looked down the wide alley as he saw a red AE86 Levin power down past the stairs and slid onto the street. Al's eyes widened. Al said to himself, "The 86 from this morning..."

She nodded, "Figures, I'd bet the real reason he showed up was just to race on the mountain."

"Why did he want money?"

She sighed, "He needed to make more upgrades or something."

Miki opened the door and looked down, "Hey Maka, we've got some customers."

Maka nodded, "Thanks Al."

Al nodded, "No problem."

Maka got up and walked back into the kitchen as Al walked down the stone steps and out of the alley. He got back into his Hachiroku and drove towards the house. He yawned.

* * *

Nik yawned. He had spent all day looking for a job and come up with nothing once again. He sighed as he took a left of off the highway. He then took an immediate right and began to climb up Mt. Myogi.

All day, he'd also been thinking about the question he asked the FC the night before. Was he uptight? Did he lose his old attitude of the drifter without a care? Al's words haunted him.

He sighed as he took the right hand turn into their garage. He got out of his FC and walked into the house. He sighed as he plopped down onto the couch. He sighed as he leaned back and closed his eyes.

He then heard the sound of the 86 pulling into his driveway. He looked over at the door as Al walked in. His distraught look was easy to notice. Nik sighed as he stood up and walked into the kitchen where Al was.

Nik looked up at him, "What's wrong bro?"

Al sighed, "The limited power of my 86 is really starting to get to me…"

Nik sighed, "I'm not sure about the upgrades yet…"

Al leaned back in his seat, "I ran into two ultra powerful 86's today."

Nik's eyes widened, "Did you challenger them?"

He shook his head, "No, but one challenged me to a 'fun run'."

Nik nodded, "Don't let them intimidate you."

"I'm not, but the difference in power is immense, especially compared to the Levin…"

"What Levin?"

"I ran into a red Levin 86, it had a turbo and a supercharger. It sounded like a beast."

"Wow, that's a beefed up Hachiroku."

Al nodded, "It slid a lot…"

Nik nodded, "It's to be expected."

Al nodded, "Yeah, a lot of power being fed to the rear tires causing a heavy over steer."

Nik smiled, "You're starting to sound like me."

He nodded, "I know, I'm scaring myself."

Nik sat back in his chair, "The upgrades will only give you 240 hp."

"Do you want more power then that?"

Nik looked over at Mei, "Huh?"

"I've got a friend who owns a garage in Akagi. He could balance the pistons, polish the port, and do all the minor stuff that could give him about 30 more hp. A 180 HP 86 is better then a 140."

Al nodded, "And that would mean the turbo and super would boost my power up near 300."

Nik sighed, "That's a lot of power Al..."

Al smiled, "I know, ain't it great? I'll have as much power as you!"

Nik sighed, "Yeah, great..."

Mei smiled, "I think Nik's jealous."

Nik sighed, "He'll be able to keep up with us, maybe even pass us now."

Al looked into Nik's eyes, "You're worried about me, aren't you?"

Nik looked over at him, "You're very talented Al, but you're also inexperienced. I'm worried it's too much power for you to learn on."

Al sighed, "The 240 had that much power..."

Nik looked over at him, "The 240 was designed for it. A Trueno GT-Apex wasn't."

Al sighed, "I could do it..."

Nik sighed, "Do it if you want, but you'll need to give up the car for a night."

Al shook his head, "I don't mind, it'll be awesome."

Mei walked towards his room, "Get to sleep, we've got a race tomorrow."

Nik nodded and looked at Al, "Go to sleep."

Al went to his room and fell asleep smiling. He was really happy he was getting at least a little more power. Every little bit helped, yet he did wonder about if he would be able to take the Levin or that panda Trueno.

* * *

_The Next Night..._

Nik sat at the bottom of the mountain with Mei. Mei and Nik were both looking at Nakazato's R32. Nakazato looked at his watch before stepping into his R32 and pulling up to the starting line.

Mei got into the driver's seat of his R32 and looked at Nik, "Wish me luck."

Nik smiled, "You don't need it."

Mei then heard the R32 revv up. Mei looked at Al and Al said, "Good luck."

A nervous Mei took his R32 to the starting line. He looked over at Takeshi and sighed as he tapped the accelerator. He watched as the Shingo counted down, "Five, Four, Three, Two, and One..."

* * *

Will have next soon, promise!


	3. The Fight for Myogi

Mei pushed his foot down hard on the accelerator as his R32 was propelled forward. Mei held back and let Nakazato take the lead. He pulled behind him as they entered the first, uphill, right hand turn

Mei gripped the corner along with Nakazato, following the same line. Nakazato reversed his technique and gripped the second corner as well. Mei followed his technique again and felt something weird in his front tires.

Mei kept following Nakazato. He was copying his every move from his braking point, to his turning angle, to his entry and exit speed. And yet Mei still felt something weird in his front end. His tires were acting oddly.

Mei and Nakazato entered the hairpin turn and Mei decided to whip his back end out, therefore keeping his RPM up. Nakazato gripped and got ahead lightly. Mei swore under his breath as he gripped into the next left.

Mei powered through the right/left/right combo and then accelerated hard towards a long, medium right at the end of the straight. Mei gripped this turn with Nakazato's technique and felt his front end become unstable once again.

Mei powered into a left hand turn and tipped the back lightly. The slight over steer made his car feel stable once again. He was wondering why Nakazato's technique causes the front end to become unstable.

Mei powered into a tight S-curve. He gripped the first once again and then feint drifted into the second. Nakazato once again caught some ground on Mei. Mei kept his brain pounding while trying to get ahead.

Mei accelerated into a light right and looked at a Green S-14, Red FD, and a Silver ER33. He smiled as he looked over momentarily. He then focused back on the road and tried to catch up once again...

---------------

The FD driver sighed, "He better stop gripping like Nakazato if he wants to win."

Sato looked over at her, "Why? Nakazato's gripping technique is effective on an uphill. Mei should stop drifting because the heavy body does it no good on an uphill."

She shook her head, "I'm not saying Mei shouldn't grip. What I'm saying is that he shouldn't grip like Nakazato. It's easy to see that his front tires are losing pressure. He's drifting because it makes him feel stable, but he could be plenty stable if he just didn't brake as much and stopped letting his tires lose pressure like they are."

Sato asked, "So why is he copying Nakazato?"

She smirked, "Because he's an idiot?"

Sato said, "How is he an idiot?"

---------------

Nik sighed, "He's an idiot because he's attacking the corners in a defensive manor. The power of Nakazato's R32 has always allowed him to get ahead of an opponent and he just wanted to stay there. Because of this, he created a defensive driving style. The trick to being the driver behind is driving offensively. Mei's copying Nakazato's technique, therefore making him drive defensively."

Al sighed, "Yeah, agreed, but is there anything Mei could do to win?"

Nik nodded, "Yeah, it's very simple..."

---------------

"Mei just has to use his own uphill technique and stopping trying to be Nakazato."

Sato asked, "That's all?"

She nodded, "Yup, but if he doesn't soon, there goes the uphill."

Sato sighed, "That would suck for Sara. She's waiting to see the white 32 come rushing past the finish line, not the black one."

The FD driver nodded, "Come on Mei, your good, just remember it..."

---------------

Mei attacked a right/left/right combo behind Nakazato. Mei's front tires still felt weird. He only felt comfortable during a drift and when he drifted, he lost ground on Nakazato.

Mei and Takeshi past the half way mark and powered towards a long right. Mei decided to try a pass on Nakazato. Mei knew after that right, came a sharp left. He just might be able to get ahead.

Mei took the outside of the right corner. He powered along with Nakazato. Nakazato's R32 was only slightly more powerful then his own, perhaps 40 or 50 bhp. Mei could keep up and did.

Mei and Nakazato entered the sharp left that marked the mid-way point. Mei pushed down his accelerator hard. Mei used full, four wheel grip to propel him into the corner.

Mei managed to get ahead of Nakazato, but only momentarily. Nakazato's powerful R32 let him push back on front before the next corner. Mei growled in the seat of his R32 and went towards the next corner.

Mei downshifted into fourth gear as he aggressively gripped a left hand turn. Mei's power gave him no advantage on an uphill against the same car. Nakazato's uphill power was the thing that gave him the overall advantage.

Mei knew he had one shot, and that shot was the downhill corner at the highest point in Myogi. Mei's aggressive downhill technique would give him the advantage. In a downhill, it's not all about power, it's about technique.

Mei slammed down the accelerator, attempting to ride Nakazato's tail. He was doing a somewhat good job. Mei attacked the light, low grade uphill corner and felt the back end slide. He corrected and continued behind Nakazato.

Mei could feel the car become smoother. His own technique took into account every aspect of the car, most importantly the weight. The heavy R32's weak point was the weight.

Although the uphill lessened the effect of the weight on the tires, it was still there. Mei knew that Nakazato would keep driving the way he did no matter what anyone told him about driving, which would always ultimately be his downfall.

Mei powered around a wide hairpin and then accelerated up a steep hill, approaching the downhill corner of Mt. Myogi. He shifted into fifth gear and pulled alongside Nakazato for the final stretch. He had the inside.

Mei watched as Nakazato broke and then he took his chance. He waited until his car was ¾'s of the way past Nakazato's R32 before turning inwards and flooring the accelerator.

He felt the rear traction break and he let the car slide around the sharp corner. Mei then counter steered at just the right time, causing the angle to return to normal and he pulled to the front of Nakazato and shifted into fourth gear.

Mei powered past the line and broke hard as he skidded to a stop. He pulled down the overhead mirror and looked at his face. He looked like he'd just had sex. He smiled and stepped out of the R32.

He immediately felt the arms of Sara wrap around him. He wrapped his own arms around her and smiled. He looked at the mountain as he watched the ER33, S-14, and FD drive up next to him.

He smiled and received the congratulations from them. It felt good to have won. He kissed Sara and then looked as he saw the black FC coming up the mountain.

Immediately, the team members disappeared into the crowd, with the exception of Sara. Nik pulled up next to the R32 and congratulated Mei along with Al. The Nites where half way there.

---------------

Nik looked over at Shingo as he was talking to Nakazato. Nik looked back at Mei with a smile, "Go find a good vantage point. I'll see you later man."

Mei nodded and whispered in his ear, "Watch your ass out there..."

Nik nodded, "I will."

Nik then felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked behind him and saw Shingo with an evil smirk on his face. Nik turned to face him, "Yes?"

Shingo smiled, "Why don't we make things interesting?"

Mei's eyebrow rose, "What do you mean interesting?"

Shingo smiled, "We'll, I figured a talented racer such as you would be up for the challenge of racing with a little added danger..."

Nik looked at him, understanding his intentions, "You're talking about the duct-tape death match, aren't you?"

Al looked at Nik, "What's that?"

Nik's eyes narrowed, "Mei, take Al."

Al felt Mei grab his shoulder and Al reluctantly went. Nik then looked back at Shingo, "You're on."

Shingo smiled as he turned back to his car, "At least you're brave..."

---------------

Al had left the 86 at the bottom of the mountain, so he now drove down with Mei. Mei drove down calmly, barely breaking the speed limit. Al's hand gripped his jeans tightly, worried about Nik.

"So do you want to know what the Duct-tape Death match is?"

Al nodded, "Yes."

Mei sighed, "Have you ever tried drifting with one hand?"

Al nodded, "Ya, on my delivery runs."

Mei nodded, "No imagine drifting with your hand stuck at 2 o'clock."

Al put his hand out and turned it on an imaginary wheel as his eyes widened, "Oh my god..."

Mei nodded, "Yeah, Shingo is able to do it because his car is FF, but FR's require more counter steer."

Al's eyes filled with more worry, "Is there anyway to beat it in an FR?"

Mei nodded, "Yeah, with practice, but to do it without crashing on the mountain requires a level of adaptability only the top drivers have."

Al sighed, "I hope Nik doesn't do anything stupid."

Mei smiled, "When has Nik ever done anything stupid?"

Al cringed.

---------------

Nik clenched his fist as much as possible, dealing with the sticky feeling on his hand. He looked over at Shingo as some of the Night Kids backed away from him and his evil smirk now faced Nik.

Nik ignored it as he pointed himself back down the road. He centered himself and felt his calming feeling flow over him as his eyes shut, _Ok Hogashinu, this is it. Still no job, still no girl, still barley getting by. Same as always, now drive_.

Nik tapped his accelerator and felt the rotary engine rumble lightly beneath him. He looked forward towards the uphill corner as Takeshi did the countdown. At go, the race that would decide the fate of Myogi's masters began.

Nik used heel/toe to slow down when entering the first corner. Shingo was tailing. Typical. He pressed down the accelerator harder. As he drove around the light downhill corner, he held a tight inside lane, keeping four-wheel grip.

Nik then saw the first corner he would need to drift. He broke early, letting his speed drop low before turning in. He fought his natural instinct to floor the throttle for an aggressive drift and tapped it lightly, causing a very mild over steer. He still had to counter fully with his right hand before straightening out again.

Nik realized how much of a pathetic corner that had been, but he felt like that would be the limit of his run this night. He wanted to drive more aggressively, but he had to consider other important things, like the tire pressure, spin-outs, car damage, and then the less important things, like staying alive.

Nik entered the next corner twenty km/h faster then the last corner. His car slid simply, but he had forgotten about the next corner which completed the set. Nik countered until his arm felt like it was going to fall off. Then he pushed harder.

Brake and throttle control allowed him to get the back end pointing the right way again. He began to realize how the car was controlled more with the throttle and brake then with the steering wheel. This could make things easier.

Nik entered the left/right/left combo, using the accelerator gently to control the slide of the car. He was starting to get the hang of it. He entered a light right and felt the car control itself through the turn. He was beginning to generate speed. He smiled.

---------------

Mei listened over the radio as the checkpoint guy went over what he saw, "_This is the 17th and 18th corners, both cars just passed, the FC still has the lead but the EG6 is following close behind. Shingo looks like he's waiting for something..."_

Al looked up at Mei, "What do you think he's waiting for?"

Mei fist clenched, "I've got a feeling he's going to pull a move like the one on Akina against the Panda Trueno."

"What'd he do their?"

"He destabilized the rear end by tapping into the bumper during a drift. The 86 somehow recovered, but I don't know about Nik's ability to..."

Al's eyes widened, "But that's like cheating."

Mei nodded, "Yeah, but this is Touge. All rules are unwritten."

Al sighed, "I hope Nik will be ok..."

Mei nodded, "Me too..."

---------------

The driver of the red FD sat on her hood as she looked up at the lights from the S-curve. She sighed and crossed her arms. The ER33 driver noticed her movements and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I'm just worried about Nik."

He smiled, "Don't worry; I'm sure he'll be fine."

She still had a worried look on her face as she noticed the FC and EG-6 drive around the previous hairpin turn. She sat up off her hood and watched as the car powered towards the corner.

The FC entered at a decent speed and turned in lightly, using the throttle to bring the back end around. She smiled just before she noticed it. The EG-6 had made contact with the corner of Nik's rear bumper.

She watched in horror as the FC spun out, the back end heading towards the guard rail. It hit it and continued to spin in the same direction. The front end of the car went directly into the guard rail, causing a dent as the car came to a stop.

The engine died and she leapt over the rail, hurling herself towards the FC until she felt a hand on her shoulder, holding her back. She looked back at Sato and he said, "We can't."

She looked over at the car, seeing the paint scratches and body damage. She looked on as everyone around ran to the FC, to see if he was ok. She wanted to be there...

---------------

Mei listened over the radio as the events of what happened were relayed to him and Al. Nik's condition was still unknown to anyone. The car door had been locked. Typical Nik.

Mei looked at Al. They both wanted to go up. The both stepped into Mei's R32 and Mei fired up the engine. He squealed the tires as he pulled out of the lower lot and started up the mountain.

Al listened over the radio, "_This is the 26th corner, Shingo just passed. He's driving like its Sunday."_

Al clenched his fist and Mei pressed down the accelerator harder. Then the car squealed to a stop as they heard the radio come on again. He said, "_This is the crash site. The FC's engine just started up again and he started down the mountain."_

Al and Mei stared at each other. They smiled.

_-----------------_

31st corner_-"The EG-6 just went around the next turn. He's still driving normally. I can hear the FC. It sounds close...hey, it just passed me. It looks like he's getting more of an angle then before."_

35th corner-_"The EG-6 just noticed the FC. Shingo's starting to get his speed up again. The FC's still closing."_

41st corner-_"The FC is tapping Shingo's bumper. He just through his backend out. His drift is amazing. It looks like Ryosuke's driving it."_

46th and final monitored corner-_"The FC and the EG-6 just exited. The FC drifted the outside lane and their now dead even going into the last hairpin."_

--------------

Mei and Al watched as they came around the last corner. They were sprinting to the finish. Shingo was ahead by two inches...one inch... ½ inch...a tie? The finished dead even.

The FC pulled into the car lot still going full speed. They watched as the FC squealed to a stop and did two complete 360's. Mei ran over and heard a sound come form the door. _Click._

Mei opened the door and looked at Nik, sitting in the bucket seat of the FC. Mei saw how his right arm hung lower then his left. Mei quickly took out his pocket knife and cut Nik's hand free of the steering wheel. He pulled him out.

Mei set Nik down on the hood of the R32 and looked at him. His eyes were barley open and he could see dried blood in his forehead. He was breathing heavily and he sat there silently.

When Mei placed his hand on Nik's right shoulder, his silence was broken by the sound of his painful scream. Mei helped him stand by supporting his left arm. Alex opened the door to the 32 and prepped it for his brother.

When Nik sat, he spoke. He said, "Don't take me anywhere."

Mei and Al stared at him. They watched as he painfully lifted his body up, "We have one more race..."

Mei pushed Nik back down gently into his seat, "No, I have to take you to the hospital."

"Race now, heal later..."

Al aggressively pushed Nik down into his seat, "You stay, and that's final."

Al turned and looked at Takeshi and Shingo, "I race."

Shingo smirked, "Sorry kid, you aren't even worth my time."

Al's fist's clenched but Mei held him back, "Why don't I race you. We both know you're little ass tap won't work on my 32."

Shingo smiled, "That would work. You're on, the downhill in ten."

Mei nodded and looked at Al, "Get him in the 86 and take him to the hospital, I'll take care of the FC."

Mei was about to step into his 32 when he heard a strained voice talk to him from behind, "Mei...if you lose, I'll kick your...ass..."

Mei smiled, "We'll good then, just go make sure you can kick my ass."

--------------

Mei stepped into his R32 and began his uphill climb. He was halfway up when he pulled to the side by the silver ER33. He stepped out and was quickly greeted by the question, "Is Nik ok!"

Mei nodded, "Yeah, he should be. It looked like he dislocated his shoulder because of his hand being duct taped."

Mei noticed the Brazilian man on the ER33 smirking. Mei asked, "What's so funny?"

"You do realize something, don't you?"

"What?"

"Shingo's scared."

"How can you tell?"

"First, he challenges Nik to the Duct-tape Death Match, then, on top of that, he makes him spin out. He's scared that you're going to win."

Mei smiled, "Well, I guess he is. Thanks for noticing Kev."

Kevin smiled, "Of course, by the way, I got your parts and bring Al by if you want me to take a look at the engine."

Mei smiled and stepped back into his R32 and drove back up the mountain. He had made a fool of himself on the uphill, but now he would attack the downhill and win the mountain.

Mei turned around when he got to the top of the mountain with Shingo and parked next to his EG6. Mei revved up his 280 hp engine. It was more powerful then Shingo's 250 hp engine.

Takeshi made the countdown. At one, Mei took his left foot off the clutch and pressed down on the throttle. He floored ahead of Shingo as they entered the uphill corner. Mei's power pushed him ahead.

Mei then entered the sharp left hand turn. His drift was nearly flawless. Mei entered the following turns with the same level of excellence. He knew Shingo's tricks and he wasn't going to lose.

Shingo's driving style relied on his tricks like the FR bump or the Duct-tape death match. Although Shingo was an excellent FF driver, he couldn't contend truly without his techniques, especially against an opponent who wasn't FR.

Mei powered past the halfway point and waved at the team members of his little 'project'. Shingo was still almost five seconds behind him and falling farther and farther.

Mei powered past a hairpin set and saw the final 3 continuous turns. He drifted through them before seeing the lights that hung over the car lot. He skidded into the lot and pulled next to the empty FC.

He watched as Shingo pulled next to Takeshi. He smiled as he watched Nakazato walk over to him and put his hand out to him, "Congratulations, the mountain is yours."

Mei smiled and shook his hand, "We had a good battle."

Takeshi reluctantly smiled, "Yeah, I guess we did."

Mei watched as Kevin, Sato, Sara, and the FD driver pulled up next to him. Sara stepped out of the ER33's passenger side and ran over to him, planting a long, sensual kiss on his lips.

Mei accepted her gift happily and then asked her, "Would you and Kev do me a favor?"

Kev walked over and asked, "What?"

"Would you take the FC back to my place and then give Sara a ride home? I gotta go check on Nik."

Kev nodded, "No prob."

Mei watched as Kev and Sara drove up the mountain towards his house and he looked at the girl in the red FD, "I'll call you as soon as I find out how Nik is."

She nodded, "Thank you Mei."

Mei nodded before getting back into his R32. He shot out of the lot and drove to the Myogi Hospital quickly. He parked by Al's Trueno and walked into the building. He saw Al sitting in a waiting chair and he sat next to him, "Is the doctor seeing him?"

Al nodded, "Yeah, he told me to wait."

Mei nodded and sat next to Al. Five minutes later, a dark haired man walked out of the room, with his right arm in a sling and his heads bandaged. Mei smiled, "You ok Nik?"

Nik nodded, "Yeah, I'll be fine."

Mei stood up and led him outside and into the 32. Al took off ahead of him and Mei followed as he drove casually in fourth gear. Mei then looked over at Nik, "What happened up there?"

Nik shook his head, "I don't know. I entered the corner normal, felt a tap on my bumper, and then I just spun. Shingo past by me during my initial spin and then my side hit the rail, causing a reverse spin and then I sped into the guard rail."

Mei nodded, "Yeah, I guess. I heard over the radio you were getting more of an angle after the crash, was that cause of your shoulder."

Nik nodded, "Yeah, I had actually thought about dislocating it on purpose so I'd have more reach, but I guess the crash got to it before me."

Mei smiled, "I'm glad. I got Sara and her friend to drive the car up to the house for you. It should be in the driveway."

Nik sighed, "How did it look? Everything after the crash is kind of a blur."

Mei cringed, "There's paint damage all across the left side and your front end is dented in pretty far. I didn't look under the hood but I'd guess the engine is ok because you did finish your run."

Nik nodded as they pulled into their garage. He got out and walked into the driveway where the FC sat. The body damage was immense. He sighed and sat down on the hood, "We really fucked you up this time, huh?"


	4. The Orange NSX

Alex awoke the next morning yawning. He was tired from being up the night before. He walked out into the kitchen and saw Mei sitting at the kitchen table. He smiled, "Sup?"

Mei shook his head as he sipped his coffee, "Fine, you?"

He yawned, "Tired."

Al nodded and walked over to the fridge, "What are you doing today?"

"I'm taking the FC to my friend in Tochigi. Wanna come along?"

Al nodded, "Sure, I'll bring the 86 so he can look at it too."

Mei nodded, "Alright."

Mei walked out and slipped into the driver's seat of the FC. He looked down at the steering wheel. He used his shirt to wipe off the dried blood before placing the key into the ignition.

Mei followed Al until they got onto the highway. Then Mei pulled ahead and led Al into the Tochigi area. He watched the gauges carefully; making sure everything was running OK.

Mei pulled into a large scrap yard in the outskirts of the town. He drove along the path, cutting between destroyed, wrecked, and, overall, mangled cars. He then pulled into an aluminum building. Inside the large, hanger-like building, sat many cars, most Japanese, with one or two European models sitting around.

Al and Mei both exited their cars at relatively the same time. Al looked around, seeing no one in site. He sighed before hearing Mei yell, "Yo, Kev!"

Al looked around before watching a medium size, dark skinned man slide out from underneath a Mitsubishi Mirage CJ4A. He looked up at Mei, "Sup man, how's it going?"

Al looked down, his eyes widening, "Kev?"

Kevin sat up and smiled at Al, "Sup dipshit?"

Al fell back onto the hood of his Hachiroku, "When the fuck did you come to Japan?"

"3 months ago, bout the same time you guys did, give or take a week."

"Why?"

"Mike asked."

Al looked at Mei, "Why didn't you tell us?"

Mei smirked, "It was a surprise…"

Al sighed, "I don't even want to know…"

Kev smiled, "That's great guys, so what's up?"

Mei pointed behind him at the FC. Kevin cringed before walking over to it. The hood popped and he looked around inside of it. Al and Mei watched on, eager to see the verdict of Kevin's decision.

He looked behind him and said, "The intercoolers dented. Did the engine heat seem a little high on the drive here?"

Mei nodded. Kevin wiped his hands and nodded back, "Figures, also I'll need to do some work to the body, maybe even replace the front bumper. Besides that, cosmetics, he got lucky."

Mei nodded, "I'll say, it looked a lot worse, didn't it?"

Al then looked around, "So which one of these cars are you driving?"

Kev leaned back, "Got myself a Skyline."

Al smiled, "Followed in Mei's footsteps by getting a GTR?"

He shook his head, "4WD's for losers, I got a GTS."

Mei sighed, "Spent an arm and a leg on it too, supping it up for pushing out 280-290 with mechanical tuning."

Al nodded, "I actually prefer turbo personally."

Kev nodded, "So I heard you wanted to get some more power out of this thing?"

Al nodded and walked over to the driver's side so he could pop the hood. The hood was lifted and then Kevin looked down, observing the 4AGE. He smiled, "Nice engine. Stock, but well kept."

Al nodded, "So what could you do to it?"

"I could rebuild it mechanically, but it some upgrade parts, but that would cost a couple million yen, opposed to simply turbo-charging it to push out an extra 50-60 hp."

Al crossed his arms and looked down at the engine with Kevin, "I wanted somewhere around 300 hp."

Kev smiled, "Might as well get a new car then. The 86 was built for a power band of about 200 hp; even some pro 4AGE's are only pushing out 250."

Al sighed, "I would too, this thing too old. The trade-in value is only about 200,000 yen. I'd need at least 1,000,000 to get even a decent FR."

Kev sighed, "Al, I get cars in and out of here all the time. I'll tell you what, I'll keep a look out for something good and when I see it, I'll call you."

Al smiled, "That sounds cool, thanks man."

Kev nodded, "No prob."

Al walked over and stepped into his car smiling as he did so. Mei was about to walk over to the passenger side as Kevin grabbed his shoulder, "Hey, that team with the orange NSX is coming up tonight, you gonna be there?"

Mei nodded, "Yeah, I'll be there, but I'll probably be a little late. Start at ten, with or without me. Run the uphill first; choose who runs by what they're driving. I'll be there for the downhill."

Kev nodded, "Ok, later."

Mei got into the passenger side of the 86 and drove away from the garage as they got back onto the highway. Al asked, "What was that all about?"

Mei smiled and pushed himself backwards in his seat, closing his eyes, "You don't want to know…"

--------------------

Nik had been sitting around for almost 6 hours, pondering where the hell Mei and Al could have gone. He leaned back and sighed, slightly paying attention to an infomercial.

Just then, the faint sound of the Hachiroku made Nik stand up. He walked outside in his sweatpants and looked at Mei and Al as they walked towards him. He sighed and cleared the way, allowing them inside.

He sat down and asked, "Where'd you go?"

Mei answered quickly, "We brought your car to a shop in Tochigi. He said the intercoolers dented and he's gonna install a new one for free."

Nik nodded, "Great, and take car of the body work?"

Mei nodded, "Yeah, he's also gonna keep an eye out for a new car for Al."

Nik's eyes went over at Al, "Since when do you want a new car?"

"Since I found out that changing this thing would almost be a complete waste of money."

Nik shrugged, "Whatever, maybe you should get an FD…"

Mei looked at him, "OR an R33 or R34

Nik looked at Mei, "OR maybe you could get a Silvia…"

Mei looked at Nik with the same angry passion in his eyes, "OR a GC8."

Al smiled, "Whatever, I think I want a BB5."

------------------------

Both men stared at the blonde one as he walked out of the kitchen. He smiled and got into the driver's seat of his 86 before starting up the engine. It was dusk, perfect time for a quiet drive up the mountain.

Al started up the mountain slowly, just enjoying the scenery. He smiled, slowly accelerating up the mountain. It didn't take him very long to get to the top, where he sat for a few hours until it was dark and most of the cars were gone.

Al then pulled out of the upper lot and began his way down the pass. He floored the accelerator as he approached the first curve, gripping it tightly. He then powered down a straight towards the upcoming left.

His car drifted through it smoothly. He then slowly gripped around a long hairpin before hearing a faint sound in his ear. It sounded like an engine. He ignored it and started to weave through a section of light S curves.

He broke hard before entering his first set of hairpins. He floored it a little more then usual, trying to power over through the corners. He was trying to gain inertia, that why he could work on his feint drifts.

At the end of the last hairpin he over powered and spun out, luckily avoiding the rails. He sighed and backed up before getting back on the road. He then slowly went into the next turn before accelerating down the straight.

After four or five more curves, he began to see a glimmer behind him. On one long strait, the lights kept getting closer and closer until the silver Toyota Chaser JZX100 was riding his ass.

Al floored it, trying to pull away, but he could here that the engine was tuned and turbocharged. He entered a corner going full speed, but the chaser kept right on him. The next few turns went the same way.

Suddenly, Al floored the brakes, and pulled to the inside, allowing the Chaser to pass by him. He sighed and sat for a moment, before he heard a sudden screech and the sound of an engine coming towards him.

Al stepped out of his car and watched as the driver of the JZX as well as his passenger stepped out of the car. Al's eyes widened at the sight of them. He asked, "You're American?"

They both nodded, but the driver spoke, "Yeah, so are you apparently."

Al nodded and looked over at the passenger. He looked the same age as him. He then looked down at the car, "This is a really nice Chaser you have here."

The driver nodded, "Yeah, it is. I pushed it so it's putting out close to 400 hp."

Al's eyes widened, "Wow, that's pretty powerful. I've only got 140 HP."

The passenger nodded, "At least it's a Toyota."

Al smiled, "You guys like Toyotas?"

The passenger nodded, "Back home me and my brother used to drive a Lexus GS300."

"Where's home?"

"South Carolina."

The passenger smiled, "You're looking at one of the fastest drivers on the Carolina Motorsports Park speedway."

Al smiled, "My names Al, I'm from Connecticut, street racer."

The driver nodded, "I'm Ross and this is my little brother Pete. We just got here a few months ago."

Al nodded and shook their hands. Al then asked, "I noticed you have no team sticker, haven't built one yet?"

He shook his head, "Nope, but I am planning on making a team out of four-door sedans. You ever got your hands on one, look me up, you got skill."

Al nodded and stepped back towards his car, only to be cut off, "Hey Al!"

He turned, "Yeah?"

"Do you happen to know who the fastest downhill racer on Myogi is?"

He nodded with a smile, "Yeah, he's my older brother Nik."

Ross smiled, "Tell him I'm interested in racing him."

Al sighed, "His car is in the shop now, but when it's done, I'll be sure to tell him."

Ross nodded, "I'll see you around Al, don't forget about my offer."

Al nodded and got into the 86. He finished off his run slowly and then drove back to the house, passing Mei on the way in. He was flooring it onto the highway. Al wondered what was going but then figured it out. Sara.

---------------------------

Sara sat at the starting line, revving up her engine slowly. She was slightly gnawing on her lower lip. This was her first real race. She gripped the steering wheel tightly, but was calmed by the touch of her friend with the red FD.

She smiled, "Calm down, you're gonna be fine. Just remember your lines. This thing's got nothing on you."

She looked over at the Subaru Alcyone CXD. It revved high. She couldn't tell the exact HP, but she knew it had to be at least 100 more then her own. She sighed and revved up her 4G63. The whole car was still stock, except for suspension tuning Mei had done.

She looked ahead as Sato began the countdown. She revved it up one more time and held the high RPM before letting off the clutch when he threw his hand down. Both cars shot off the line, the Alcyone taking a natural advantage.

The straight didn't last long, as the first hairpin set came up. Both cars wove through the 8 curves with relative ease. Little ground was lost, but the acceleration of the CXD kept it ahead of Sara's E4.

Luckily, the uphill only had one straight that was more then 1/4 of a mile long. Sara was able to keep her ground in the corners, even though the exit speed of the CXD was incredible.

They went through another set of hairpins before starting a weaving section. Sara floored her accelerator, pushing her car to the limits. She didn't know how long she could hold up continuous four-wheel grip, but she would keep trying. She slowly gained ground…

She revved the engine double before taking a hard left/right/left curve. She was trying to pass, but the car was just too powerful. All Mei's rambling about technique and now she was being beat by power?

She sighed and noticed both cars where coming up on the deadly right. Sara floored, knowing the CDX would slow down to handle the corner. She floored the throttle before the corner, sending herself into a power over drift.

The CDX used a braking drift, slowing her down slightly more then the Evo 4. Sara closed the distance in that drift, sending them through parallel. The exit, once again, sent them apart. The power of the Alcyone sent it ahead, into the next hairpin.

Sara followed best she could, but the race was finished quickly, the Alcyone being 7 seconds ahead. Sara sighed and pulled to the side of the road. There were tears welling in her eyes, "I'm sorry Mei…"

---------------------------

Mei floored it up the uphill part of the mountain. He sighed as he pulled to the top, seeing his team consoling Sara. He pulled up next to the Evolution and Sara ran into his arms. He held her lovingly, "It's ok."

Her tears got his shirt wet, but then he saw Kev. He asked, "How'd she do?"

"Lost by 7 seconds, but she did really well. That CDX had around 400 hp."

Mei nodded, knowing no matter what was said would change Sara's mind. He looked at Sato, "I want you to race the NSX; Jen can't hold a tight enough line."

Sato laughed nervously, "It's a little too late Mei, I'm sorry…"

Mei looked at the starting line as a girl from the opposing team threw her hand down, sending the FD and the NSX racing down the mountain. Mei's eyes widened as he gently let go of a calming Sara.

Mei looked angry, but then his face changed to confused, "It really is Orange…"

----------------------------

Jen drifted into the next hairpin, utilizing the feint technique. The NSX was sliding with ease. MR gives a car balance. That combined with the excess power and the drivers talented feint technique, meant this race was over from the beginning.

Yet, Jen pushed through, hoping she could do something about it. Her car was red lining in fourth gear as she passed the long straight and entered another hairpin set.

She wasn't sure why she had a weird feeling about this race, because everything seemed normal except for a feeling the NSX was giving to her. It seemed deep, but angry.

Either way it was fast. The car drifted through most corners faster then she could believe. She barley slowed down when entering the turns. It seemed like she just feinted every turn. She moved down the road like a boat down a river.

Jen's car moved in a more solid motion. Her flow had still not been adapted to this mountain. She pushed around another hairpin and tightened up her line slightly. She moved hard, trying to stay with them.

She then found herself weaving through the last corners till the end of the track. She sighed and drove down the rest of the way, not even nearing the speed of the opposing car.

She parked her car next to the NSX. She sighed as she stepped out and looked over at the other driver. It kind of felt like it was ok, considering she was racing a fellow female driver.

She looked over and smiled, "Good race."

She nodded, "Thanks."

Jen sighed as she leaned back onto her FD. She then asked, "How much power does your car have?"

"I'd say around 500 hp."

She sighed, "I only have 350…"

"I had 350 on my old car. It was a Porsche."

"I had a Porsche before, an 80's 911

"Mine was a '96."

"I also had an M3; it was nice before I crashed it."

"I've had a 911, a Lexus SC300, an Audi Quattro, A Civic Del Sol, an…"

"Wow, slow down. Rich much?"

Jen blushed, "Sorry, I had a rich dad back in America."

She smiled, "Don't worry about it. Hey, do you know the next closest mountain to the south?"

"Umm, I think Usui, then Akagi, then Akina, Then Myogi, then…"

"That's enough, thank you very much."

She slid back into the driver's seat of the NSX and then took off, soon followed by the Alcyone. Jen then looked behind her as the rest of the team showed up behind her.

She looked back and smiled, "I lost."

Kev nodded with a smile, "Its ok."

Mei agreed, "Yeah, they were really fast."

Jen nodded, "They're on their way to Usui I think. They seemed like they were interested in going south."

Sato crossed his arms and thought for a moment, "Well, Gunma is pretty big on downhill racers. Maybe that team is a two person Project D."

Jen shook her head, "They seemed more like they were in a hurry. I wonder what's up with them…"

Mei smirked. Sara looked over at him, "What's that for?"

"Me and Nik be making sure they don't get any further then Myogi…"

Rage smiled. At least they knew revenge could be brought upon be Mei and the other Nite's. Jen leaned back and looked over at the highway. She knew Nik wouldn't be beat.

Nik's name was something she'd never forget. The cars drove by and the shining lights made it look like a moving Christmas tree. She smiled, memories flooding back…

_She stared at the Christmas tree that sat in the large living room. Periodically, her glare shifted from the tree to the window, looking for a sign of the Black Nissan._

_Soon, the sound of a tuned engine came and her body became excited at once, but then died down as she noticed her brothers green BMW, parked next to her other brothers Trans Am._

_She sighed; it was the day after Christmas. He had promised he would show up so they could go out. He said 2:30. It was 2:45. He'd better show up or…or…_

_Beep! _

_She ran outside and saw the Black 240 sitting in front of her. She smiled and slid into the passenger seat. She forced an unhappy face on herself and said, "You're late."_

_He smiled, "The best things in life are worth waiting for."_

"_You loser, you did this on purpose!"_

_He just smirked and backed out of the driveway. Then they drove. He never did much else but drive. But when he drove, he did it with grace. And, without fail, he held her hand while still being able to shift perfectly._

_She smiled, leaning back in the bucket seat. She loved him. He knew it. She'd never ever stop, no matter what. They were happy together. She knew their happiness would never end…_


	5. Times in Tokyo

Al woke up at 4, like usual. He yawned stepping out of bed and grabbing some clothes out of his dresser. He then walked out to the garage and looked around for his non existent 86.

Al looked around, wondering what was going on. Luckily, he lately had been good at piecing things together. Nik. He smiled and walked back into his room, plopped down on his bed, and fell asleep once again.

--------------------------

The faint sounds of an engine could be heard reverberating through the hills of Akina that morning. He was pushing the car as hard as he could. It had a lot of downhill potential.

Nik was happy to be behind the wheel again. It made him feel invigorated, even with less HP. Nik turned off the mountain road and got back onto the main roads in Akina.

He smiled, leaning on his hand as he drove down the highway, nearing 4,000 RPM at 105 kmh. The quiet morning highway was something he missed from doing these runs.

He pulled off the highway in Myogi and drove over to his house. He shut the engine off outside of the garage and walked through the door into his living room. He sat down on his couch and rubbed his arm.

It hurt. Even with the power steering, it still pounded him in the corners. He sighed, closing his eyes. Drifting really was 'put up or shut up'. He sighed and shut his eyes, slowly drifting to sleep…

Nik woke up three hours later at the sound of Mei dropping a frying pan onto the floor. He raised his head and looked around. He sighed, "What the fuck are you doing?"

He sighed, "Trying to make some eggs before I go to work."

Nik got up and walked over to him, ripping the frying pan out of his hand. He tapped it onto the stove before igniting the flame and reaching in the refrigerator. The eggs were quickly cracked and stirred.

He placed them in the pan with a dab of oil and stirred them up with a plastic spatula. They soon cooked into a rather appealing looking meal. Nik placed them onto a plate and put them in front of Mei's face.

Mei smiled, "You should look for a job as a cook again."

Nik sighed and sat down across from him, "I know."

"Don't you know anyone who could get you a job?"

"The only people in Japan I know besides you and Al are guys I've raced, Hoijin-san, Maka, and Miki."

"Hoijin delivers tea to restaurants all over Gunma and even into Tochigi and Saitama. Maybe he knows a place that needs some help."

He sighed, "I broke Maka's heart, you think that he'll want to help me out? I'm lucky he didn't fire Al."

Mei shrugged, "I can look around in Myogi for a job if you want."

Nik shook his head, "No, I have an interview today at some fancy place in Tokyo today."

Mei raised his eyebrow, "Tokyo?"

Nik nodded, "Yeah, I know."

Mei shrugged, "Well, good luck."

Nik nodded and then his eyes widened before his head hit the table. Mei asked, "What's wrong?"

"How am I supposed to get to Tokyo if I don't have a car?"

"Can't you take the train?"

"I'm can't get their, no ride."

Mei sighed, "I can get you a ride."

"You can?"

-----------------------------------------

Sara walked around her apartment looking for her TV remote. Her one day off, and she couldn't even watch TV. She heard a faint ring tone and she ran to her cell phone.

She ran into her small bedroom and picked her phone up. She flipped it open and said, "Hello?"

Mei's voice came through clearly on the other end, "Hey baby, how are you?"

She smiled, "Good, what's up?"

"I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

"Maybe…"

"Sara…"

"I'm just kidding, what?"

"Could you borrow a car from Kevin and come pick up Nik?"

"Why?"

"Because we both know he can't know about your Evo, so go into town and see Kevin then get here by noon."

"But Mei, I…"

"Please?"

"Grrr, fine, but you owe me."

Sara hung up the phone and walked outside to her Evo. She started up the engine and shifted it into reverse, pulling out of her spot. She lived only ten minutes away form Kevin's shop on the edge of the Tochigi/Gunma border.

She pulled into the aluminum garage and walked over to Kev. She explained her situation and Kevin just shook his head and smiled before tossing her keys to a Honda Civic EK2.

She then got onto the highway and drove to the front door of Nik's house, where the young men stood in a nice pair of pants and a buttoned up shirt. He walked over and got into the passenger seat of the car where they drove down Myogi and off towards Shibasuka Station in Akina.

----------------------------------

Nik sighed. He wasn't used to driving down Myogi so slow. Suddenly he'd noticed something. The car had started to speed up. He looked down at the gear shift and noticed they were in neutral.

Nik turned back to the road and noticed they were coming up on a corner. Nik said, "You might want to hit the brakes a little."

She didn't listen. The car kept speeding up until it hit 90 km/h. Then she just turned the wheel. The car didn't over steer or under steer; it just followed a grip line on the inside of the corner.

Nik looked over at her and noticed a calm look on her face. Most people would have freaked out taking a corner on a mountain road that quickly. It was interesting to see her reactions.

As the traffic started to build up, her speed went down. Nik leaned back in his seat as they calmly and quietly drove to Akina. They didn't speak much. They never truly had spoken much in all the time they'd known each other.

She dropped him off and then sped away without a word. Nik walked into the station and bought a ticket to Tokyo. He hadn't been on a bullet train since he'd come to Japan 3 years ago.

The train ride lasted a little more than an hour. All it did was make him miss his car more. He got out at Tokyo Station and walked around a little until he found a Taxi to take him to the restaurant.

He stepped out and looked at the sign. Gurume Tokyo. It meant Gourmet Tokyo. Nik walked into the restaurant and saw a bar at the front of the restaurant, with Japanese style tables behind a clear glass window with Gurume Tokyo written in Kanji.

Nik sat down at the bar and let the bartender know he was here to see the head chef. Soon, a 5'4'' purple haired young American walked out. Nik's jaw dropped. The women smiled, "Konichiwa Nik."

Nik smiled and stood up, "Amber, wow, I didn't know you actually came here."

Amber nodded, "Yeah, well, I did two years at Tokyo Post University in New York and know I came here to finish of my bachelors degree."

Nik nodded, "That's really cool."

"Thanks, so what the hell are you doing here?"

"I actually came all the way from Gunma for a job interview with you."

"Oh, wow, all the way from Gunma?"

Nik nodded, "Yeah."

"You need work that bad?"

He nodded, "Yeah, so I heard you were looking for a line cook."

She nodded, "Yeah, an experienced guy with background in Asian, European, and American cuisine."

"You know I have it."

"And you can put up with the pressure and everything too, I remember back in school."

"So am I hired?"

"You know it; do you have a way to get here?"

"My car is in the shop for a week, but yes."

"Ok then, how about you come in on Thursday at 3? I'll show you around and we can start to get to work."

"That's great Amber; you have no idea how much this means to me."

Amber smiled, "See you Thursday."

Nik smiled and walked back outside after drinking his free cup of Sake. He got another Taxi and went back to the train station. He didn't exactly know how he was going to get back to Myogi from Akina, but he'd find a way.

---------------------------

Al yawned and stretched out his arms as he looked up at the clock. It was 5 of 3. 5 more minutes and he was gone. He hated Mondays. Who didn't? He sighed and waited and waited until the ring sent him up from his seat and out to the parking lot.

Like usual, Miki was waiting for him on the hood of his underpowered Hachi. Her smiled could end a war or start one. He hugged her before hearing a slightly familiar voice in the background.

The voice said, "Nice to see you Al."

Al turned to see the familiar face of Pete, the co-driver from the other night, "Hey, I didn't know you went here."

"It's a big school, hard to notice people sometimes."

Al then stepped aside and introduced Miki, "This is Tsukaya Miki."

Pete bowed, "Itamae Peter."

Miki bowed her head and then Al asked, "So what are you doing here?"

"I'm waiting for Ross if he ever decides to get his but up here. There's a race going on up in Usui tonight and we were gonna go hang out in town until the race tonight."

"Really? Who's racing?"

"Impact Blue and the mystery team with the Orange NSX and the Orange Alcyone."

"Mystery team? I haven't heard of them."

"They only started getting noticed a week ago. They beat the Emperors second stringers on Irohazaka so easy it wasn't even funny. They also raced on Tochigi, Soshimaru pass, and Hapharogga."

"Wow, won each time."

"Yeah, I heard that they're really pushing out the horsepower. Both cars are clocked at like 450-500hp."

"Wow, maybe I should go up to see them."

Miki asked excitedly, "Hey, I have the day off, can I come?"

Al nodded, "Of course you could babe."

She smiled and kissed him, "Just take me home so I could get changed."

Pete looked at Al, "Do you know where C-121 is?"

Al nodded, "Yeah."

"Meet us there around 9:30."

Al nodded, "Cool, see you then."

Al got into his Trueno with Miki and shot off towards Miki's house. He knew it wouldn't take her very long to get ready. She wasn't like most girls. She was soon ready and they left towards home to get permission from Nik.

At the base of Myogi, Al felt a vibration in his pocket. He reached down and answered his cell phone while slowly pulling off to the curb. He asked, "Hello?"

"Hey Al, where are you?"

"I'm at the bottom of Myogi on my way up to see you, why?"

"I'm at the train station in Akina."

"What the hell are you doing…"

"It's a long story; could you just come pick me up?"

"Umm, sure…"

"Thanks see you in a bit."

As the phone call ended, Al sighed and floored the accelerator. Miki screamed as the car swung around in a 180 and Al went back towards the Highway. It only figured. He never could go just ONE day without going to Akina.

The highway road took about 20 minutes. Getting to the station took 5. He watched as Nik walked over to the car and Miki got into the back. He said hello to Miki before he floored it back onto the highway.

Al asked, "What were you doing in Tokyo?"

He smiled, "I got a job."

"Where?"

"Gurume Tokyo."

Miki said, "I've heard of that place, it's really fancy. Expensive too."

Nik nodded, "Yeah, my old friend Amber is the head chef."

Al sighed, "Good to have connections then?"

Nik shrugged, "I guess, but it's really good money I'd think."

"How much?"

"Hourly, probably 2000 yen."

Al's eyes bulged, "Holy crap."

"That's what I said."

Al shook his head as he turned off the freeway, "You're lucky you know people…"

"You're telling me."

Miki then tapped Al's shoulder, "Ask him."

"Oh yeah, Nik, can I go out to Usui tonight?"

Nik nodded, "Sure, be back by midnight."

Al nodded as he began to drive up Myogi. He pulled into the driveway and idled for a second before Nik got out and he and Miki left. Al looked at the dashboard. 4:30. They'd have plenty of time.

_Later that Night…_

Al watched as the silver Chaser came into view as it slowly swung around C-121. It slowed down and pulled alongside Al's Trueno as the two young drivers stepped out of the car.

Al nodded, "Sup Ross."

Ross nodded in recognition as he sat against the hood of his own car, "It's a pretty good turnout tonight."

Al nodded, "Yeah, I saw a couple of the Emperors up here."

Pete nodded, "Yeah, the Akina Dark Starz are up here too."

Al shrugged, "I'm surprised the Tokyo Battalions aren't up here, seeing as these guys are so powerful. I'm surprised they don't run on Wangan."

Ross sighed, "They're talented, but they're not perfect. I don't think they've reached the level of the Battalions or Project D…yet…"

They sat around for a while until the race started. Then a little longer until the race had reached their ears. Then soon the headlights came into site. Both cars were closing quickly on C121.

Both cars came into the corner around the same time. The NSX held the front. The Sil-80 was tight on the inside. The Sil-80 was losing ground as the NSX powered around the large hairpin turn.

Soon they passed. Al, Pete, and Ross stared after the cars. Miki said, "Wow, they were going really fast."

Al nodded, "They had to be going at least 175 KMH."

Ross nodded, "It's a wide curve, but still…"

Al shook his head, "Amazing the things you see in these mountains…"

Pete nodded, "The NSX has the overall advantage, it'll win."

It did. The NSX held the lead through the entire race and pulled away before the finish line. The next day, they defeated Blue Blaze on Akagi. Two days later they raced the Speed Stars on Akina. Both were slaughters.

Everyone knew their next move was Myogi. Surprisingly, they didn't show. A week went by and everything was quiet. Nik started his new job. Al continued to get to know Ross and Pete. Mei continued training on Tochigi. And things were quiet.

----------------------

_Saturday…_

Nik floored it as he slid up the on ramp. He sighed and up shifted as he regained traction on the Wangan highway. During his breaks, he'd searched endlessly through the phonebook for a good tuning shop. He still couldn't find one.

He then heard a faint sound behind him. It was a siren. He closed his eyes and swore as he smacked the Momo steering wheel. He pulled over to the curve and looked behind him as the Subaru police cruiser pulled up behind him.

Nik watched as the officer, a young guy who looked not much older then he was himself. The guy knocked on his window and he rolled it down as he asked, "I was speeding, right?"

He nodded, "Yeah, just by about 50 kmh."

"I'm sorry; I had a real bad day."

"Doesn't mean you have to take it out on the highway. License and registration please."

Nik handed him his license and registration from the glove box. He looked over them and asked, "What's been bothering you?"

"I've been looking for a tuning shop to try and get some work done on this FC."

"Why? It looks like it's in good running order."

"I'm a street racer and there's a new racer in my area that should be on my mountain soon, but I just don't have the power to race her."

"A mountain racer, huh? Where from?"

"Myogi, Gunma."

"You're from that new team on Myogi, aren't you?"

Nik nodded, "I'm the leader. You race?"

He nodded with a smirk, "Yeah, I run the Wangan with Tokyo Battalions."

Nik whistled, "Wow, Tokyo Battalions. It must be awesome running with Sanosuke Sagara."

He shrugged, "It's alright. So you've been looking for a tuning shop?"

"Yeah."

The guy sighed, "I can't ignore a fellow racer, especially one with a problem. Do you know where the Tokyo Police Academy is?"

Nik nodded, "Yeah, why?"

"Bring your car over there first thing tomorrow morning; I'll see what I can do."

Nik's eyes lit up, "REALLY!"

"Yeah, if you promise to stop speeding on my highway."

Nik nodded and took back his registration and license. He then pulled away carefully and drove at the speed limit the rest of the way. No way was he fucking this up. He needed this power if he had to defeat Team Orange…


	6. A New Day

Nik was excited the next morning. He was on the freeway towards Tokyo at 7. He couldn't wait to get there and start working on his car. He was wondering how much power he could push out of this old car.

He knew that his RX7 right know had approximately 300HP. It had a stock 200. The FD engine had a stock 280. If there was a engine swap, plus a tune up, he could probably push out around 400 hp.

That wouldn't help especially much because he knew what power would do. It would only cause more rear tire spin in a FR car. Maybe it was time he got his hands on something new…

But what? What was really out there and available? He knew he would need something with 4WD to truly attack the touge with all he had. A LanEvo? A GTO? A GTR? A GC8?

Nik shrugged as he pulled off the highway at the Police Academy exit. He pulled around to the garages where he ran into Kyou waiting underneath a LanEvo. Nik parked and stepped out of his car.

He smiled, "Good morning."

Kyou rolled out from under the jacked-up car and returned, "Good morning. Bring her inside and park her on the third lift."

Nik did as instructed and Kyou walked over soon after. They popped the hood first, so Kyou could see the 13B that sat underneath the hood. He examined it with a caring quality.

He then lifted the car up and walked underneath, looking at the transmission and muffler. He once again examined it with an eye that looked like he could see through the car.

He then walked back out and lowered the car. He asked, "How much power does it have now?"

"I tuned it to put out 300 hp."

"And torque?"

"315 I think…"

Kyou nodded, straight faced, "Ok, and how much do you want?"

"I'm actually not sure…"

"Why?"

"I've been thinking a lot and I don't know if power will help or fight against me."

"Explain."

"Well, the thing is that more power will only cause more rear tire spin, so that'll just mean more angle when I drift."

He shrugged, "I suppose so, I've never had to worry about that because I have AWD."

"That's what I was thinking, AWD, but I don't have the money to get a new car."

"So why don't you just put in an AWD system from another car?"

"I don't know which one would fit."

"Me either, so make a choice. Fine some AWD or power up your FR and work on your technique."

"What's wrong with my technique?"

"Nothing, it's just that you can't handle high HP cars yet."

"I guess…"

"You guess what? I don't have a lot of time."

"Don't rush me, alright? I'll take the power."

"You don't know what your missing out on without 4WD…"

He shrugged with a smirk, "I'll take my chances."

Kyou smiled, "So, you wanna know my idea?"

"What?"

"An engine swap, to a different rotary engine."

"Like the Twin turbo13B engine?"

He smirked, "Something like that…"

"So how long will you need my car?"

"One afternoon."

"Cool, when?"

"Tomorrow."

"Sweet, thank you."

"No problem, bring it in tomorrow before you go to work."

Nik smiled and took his FC off the jack stand. He then drove over to the restaurant quickly. Tomorrow, he would have prepared and gotten a new engine. His car would be reborn.

Nik pulled up next to Amber's Nissan Pulsar. He ran up to the restaurant and through on a chef's coat and said Hi to amber that was already cutting sushi. He went to the stove and began to steam off the rice.

-----------------------------

_Later that day…_

Alex smiled as he held Miki's hand on his way to the Gotsu family restaurant. He had learned how to shift using his elbow. He didn't want to have to let go of her hand.

He parked and kissed his loving girlfriend before his cell phone started to vibrate. He sighed and picked it up as Miki walked into the restaurant. He was surprised to here Kevin's voice.

"What's up Kev?"

"Dude, I think I found you a car."

"Are you serious!"

"Yeah man, when can you get over here?"

"Give me an hour!"

Al hung up the phone and floored it as the tires lightly spun. The car went onto the highway and Al began to swerve through the midday traffic on his way to Tochigi. He had to get there quick.

45 minutes later, he pulled off the Tochigi exit and drove into Kev's junkyard. He slid along the dirt as he noticed Kev standing by the front door of his shop. Al stepped out of his car and ran over.

He looked around, "Where is it?"

Kev smiled, "Slow your roll, check it out."

Kev pressed a button and the door to the aluminum building opened up, letting way to an open spot. Al looked inside to see the dark gray sedan sitting in front of him. He stared, "What is it?"

"It's a Toyota Mark II JZX100 turbo."

"Wow…"

"It's got 280 Hp."

"How much?"

Kev smiled, "I'll trade you, for your 86."

"But Kev, it's technically Nik's 86."

"But you have the keys."

Al looked down at his keys. He then looked at the Mark II. He sighed and gripped the keys, "Can I test drive it?"

Kev nodded, "Yeah, get in."

Al got into the drivers seat and started up the engine. It was much more powerful then the stock 4AGE. This had a 1GZ-GTE. Al put the car into first gear and pulled away from the garage. He headed towards Mt. Tochigi.

Al began an uphill climb. The mountain was being lightly traveled so he was able to get his speed up a little bit. He accelerated hard and began to slide uphill. This car was wider then the 86 and it could be felt when he over steered.

He got to the top of the mountain and quickly turned to go back down the other side. He floored it. He wanted to really see what the car could do. He shifted into 4th gear as he approached the first set of hairpins.

He used a lot of throttle in third gear that sent his car into a drift. He felt the rear end slide. The car had the same amount of power as the S-13 from back home, but it had a bit more weight.

He was able to link the corners like he was truly drifting. He loved it. The power. The car. He could go drive with Pete and Ross now that he had a 4-door sedan. It was perfect.

He knew on his way back to Kevin's shop that his decision had been made. He didn't know what Nik would think, but he just had to do this. He wanted to be a respected racer and he needed a car that would show that.

He parked the car and looked over at Kevin. He put his hand out and opened it, exposing the keys to his 1986 Toyota Sprinter Trueno AE86. He felt a knot in his stomach as Kevin lifted the keys from him.

He stepped out and walked over to his Toyota 86. He stared at it for a second before he just walked away. He looked at Kevin and thanked him for the Mark II before getting into it and driving away.

Al sighed and rubbed his hand over the dashboard before he smiled, "Let's get going…"

--------------------------

Mei sighed as he looked behind him again. The stupid orange car wouldn't get off his ass. This was his third run downhill. He just couldn't shake this Alcyone. It wouldn't just go to hell.

Mei saw the bottom of Myogi around the next bend. He pulled the E-brake on his GTR and whipped the car around as he began to drive uphill. Soon the Alcyone was behind him again. He was using all of his skill to keep it behind him.

Hairpin after hairpin. Left after right. It just wouldn't stop. This racer was real good. Mei could feel the mountain beating down on him. He didn't know how much longer he could last.

He got to the top of the mountain and drove into the parking lot on top. He E-braked into a stop and just breathed. He sighed and stepped out of his car. He looked over as a familiar face was brought out of the driver's side of the Alcyone.

Mei's eyes narrowed, "You…"

She smiled, "Nice to see you too Mike."

"What the hell are you doing in Japan?"

"I came here with an old friend to challenge Nik."

"So what the hell are you doing here?"

"I was looking for your gay cousin, but I seem to have found you."

"Your point?"

"Wanna give him a message for me?"

He shrugged, "Give me one good reason?"

"Because you know you think Nik could beat her."

"Nik can beat her."

"Prove it."

"When?"

"Tomorrow night, 10:00, one uphill, one downhill, for pinks."

"Pinks? Car for car?"

She nodded. Mei stared, "I'll ask Nik, if he accepts, we'll meet you there."

She smirked, "Agreed, later." She got into the car and sped away from the Myogi lot and Mei sighed. He got back into his GTR and drove down the mountain. How was he supposed to tell him he has to race 'her'?

Mei pulled into the garage with a sigh and saw an interesting site. A Toyota Mark II. He looked at it and then went inside and saw no sign of Nik yet. He didn't get home till late usually anyway.

Al smiled and looked over at him, "Like my new car?"

"That Mark II is yours?"

He nodded proudly, "I traded the 86 for it."

Mei smiled, "Congrats, still stock?"

"Yeah, but turbo."

"Nice, any word from Nik?"

"No, he left early and hasn't been back since."

Mei sighed, "He got his first challenge as the top racer on Myogi."

"From who?"

"…Team Orange."

Al's eyes widened then narrowed, "So they finally showed up?"

Mei nodded and then Al smirked, "Well, they're in for a lot more then they bargained for, racing the Blak Nites…"

"They're not racing the Nites."

"Then who are they racing?"

"Just Nik."

"Why?"

He sighed, "I'd rather not say…"

"What is it lately with you keeping secrets? Are you pregnant too?"

Mei looked over and flipped him off before saying, "Some things are better left untold."

-------------------------------

Al shrugged and leaned back on the couch. He fell asleep there for 5 hours until Nik got home. The sound of the rotary engine woke him. He saw Nik walk into the house a moment later.

Al looked over, "You got challenged by Team Orange."

Nik looked over with a smile, "Sweet, when?"

Al raised his eyebrow, "You seem kind of happy for going against a driver with a little less then double your horsepower."

Nik smiled, "I'm not worried."

"You figured out a way to get more power, didn't you?"

Nik nodded, "Oh yeah…"

Al shook his head, "Good luck bro."

------------------------------------

_The Next Morning…_

Nik got to the Academy at 8 AM. He waited a little while for Kyou to get there. When he did, the shop was opened and Nik drove right in. Kyou loaned him a Nissan Skyline HR32.

Nik went to work that day for noon, after they'd opened. They were already busy. Nik ran in and heard Amber yelling at the pantry guy, Chaz. Nik got on his station and looked at Amber, "You wanna take a break."

She nodded and ran outside onto the porch. Nik began working six sauté pans that sat on the range top and flipping fish onto the grill. Luckily, he had quickly created a good relationship with Chaz.

He'd scream, "I need spring roll babe!"

Chaz'd reply, "No prob sexy!"

Chaz'd scream, "Do you have tuna grilled?"

Nik'd reply, "Come and get it baby!"

Things went on like this for a while. Amber came back in and rolled her eyes every time Nik and Chaz spoke. Waitresses came in and out endlessly. Luckily, a computer ticket system made things easier.

Amber knew what she was doing and Nik knew how to make things move smoothly. It was a good day for all. They sat on the stairs outside the restaurant after work and talked.

Chaz said, "So babe plans tonight?"

Nik shook his head, "Sorta…"

Chaz winked, "Gonna get some?"

Amber rolled her eyes, "You pervert…"

Nik shook his head, "Street race."

Chaz shrugged, "Eh." He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and offered them to Amber and Nik. Amber declined but Nik took one. It had been years since he'd last smoked.

Nik lit it using Chaz's Zippo lighter. The first drag felt weird, but familiar. He shook his head as he stood up and walked down to his borrowed Skyline. He started up the engine and finished the cigarette before leaving the parking lot and heading towards the academy.

Nik pulled up and heard a lot of screaming. He ran inside and saw Kyou and some girl arguing. Nik walked in and immediately caught Kyou's attention. He looked back at the girl a moment later.

"This is the guy I got it for."

"Oh! Kyou, I'm sorry I didn't believe you."

Nik looked around, "What's going on?"

The girl looked at him, "My name's Ayane, I thought that Kyou was trying to use police connections to sell a really expensive rotary engine in a FC. I didn't know tat it was actually yours."

Nik shook his head, "No problem, and it couldn't be that expensive."

Ayane shrugged, "I think it is, but what do I know."

Kyou smirked, "Oh, it would be if I hadn't found it from a friend."

Nik smiled excitedly, "I can't wait to see it."

Nik, Kyou, and Ayane walked over to where the FC sat, polished and ready to go. Kyou handed Nik the keys where he gladly slid into the drivers' seat of his car. He smiled as he turned the key.

The engine roared. It didn't rumble, it didn't scream, it roared as if it were a prehistoric beast. Nik sat with one hand on the steering wheel. The entire car was vibrating.

Nik felt scared and his heart was pounding inside of his chest. Nik tapped the accelerator pedal and his fear brought him to turn off the car and jump out. He looked over at Kyou.

As his eyes bulged, he asked, "What the hell did you do!"

Kyou looked at him, "Chill, I just changed the engine."

"To what! A Ferrari engine!"

"It's a Mazda engine."

"Which one!"

"Stop screaming alright, it's the 26B quad-rotor engine."

"The what? I've never even heard of that engine."

Ayane looked at him, "I thought you were gonna get the 13G."

He shrugged, "Couldn't find one."

Ayane looked at him, "What's the most powerful car you've ever driven?"

"Well, my cousins dragster had around 500 hp I think."

Kyou laughed a little bit, "Well, then once you take out this thing that will have changed."

"How much power is it putting out?"

"900 at 9000 RPM."

Nik's eyes practically fell out of his head. Ayane then said, "It's been taken all the way up to 10,500, clocked at 930 hp."

"The gauge says it goes up 12000, but that's past the red line."

"A racing engine?"

Kyou nodded, "Taken out of the Mazda 787B race car."

"This must have cost a fortune…"

"Just 1,200,000 yen."

Nik's eyes boggled, "Wow…"

Kyou shrugged, "Don't worry, I got it for free."

Nik shook his head, "I don't even want to know."

Nik heard a ding and locked over at a clock by the car. It said 22:00. It was 10. Nik's eyes popped out of his head once again. He looked at the car and then up to Kyou and Ayane.

He said, "I got to go. Thank you very much Kyou."

Kyou nodded as Nik got into the drivers seat of his FC3S. He started the engine and felt it roar to life. He put the car into drive and eased into the throttle, which didn't do much good anyway.

The wheels spun as he slowly pulled out of the garage. He kept feathering the throttle as he tried to regain traction. Apparently Kyou hadn't had time to adjust the suspension.

Nik powered onto the highway. He was doing 100 kmh in 2nd gear. Nik knew he had to learn to handle this thing and what better place then the wide Wangan. Nik began to accelerate.

The car went up to 200 kmh without even trying. He kept accelerating and swerving between the cars around him. He had to break his promise to Kyou if he had to get back to Myogi in time for the race.

Nik saw a wide hairpin ahead of him and also saw enough room away from other cars. Nik looked down at his speedometer. It read 280 KMH. He grasped the newly installed sequential gear box shifter.

Nik broke and held in the clutch as he downshifted until he was in the correct gear before letting off. He looked at the electronic speedometer that had been recently installed. It read 190.

He lost more speed then he expected too, but he was still drifting at a higher speed then ever before. He hit the accelerator and the rear tires spun almost uncontrollably. He counter steered almost automatically.

Nik let off the throttle more and more to regain enough traction to keep him from spinning out. His speed fell to 140 kmh. He then revved coming out and began to choku-dori down the semi-full freeway.

Nik regained traction and began to head down the highway again. This car had a lot of power. It slid hard and had almost too much power for over steer. It would take time to learn to control this car. It sucked that Nik didn't have it…

-----------------------------

Yo, I'm fast posting again because I'm in the mood. I hope you're all enjoying my quick posts. By the way, SouthSideSlider, you're next.


	7. Reunited

Mei and Al sat on the opposite side of the Orange NSX. Al just kept staring. He couldn't believe it was _them._ Mei just stared with a dark stare. He was wondering were the fuck Nik was.

Mei heard the engine of the NSX start up and rev. The car then took off up the hill. He sighed and leaned back against the R32. He then looked over at Al who was sitting against his new Mark II.

Al looked over at him, "So what are we gonna do if Nik doesn't show?"

"Then I guess Nik gets to keep his car."

"It'd suck."

"What time is it now?"

"20 after."

"He's got to come all the way from Tokyo; he won't be here for another half hour."

"I know, it sucks."

"So, how's..."

They looked at the corner at the bottom of the mountain as they saw a black RX7 round the bend. Al and Mei's eyes widened with excitement. He was finally here. They waved him over.

Nik parked next to them, where they felt the rumble of the 26B engine. Nik shut it down as he stepped out of the car. He smiled, "Sup?"

Mei and Al walked over to him, "This engine sounds like a beast."

Nik nodded, "It is. The guy who gave it to me took it out of a Mazda race car."

"Wow!"

Nik looked over at the driver of the Alcyone. His eyes widened at the site of her. His fist clenched at the thought of her. His heart pounded at the thought of who was with her.

He then asked, "Where's the NSX?"

"It went to the top."

Nik smiled, "I'm going up."

The Alcyone driver screamed over, "Were going to the top first, she wants to run the downhill."

Nik got into his FC and Mei and Al got into their respective cars. The GTR and the Mark II took off up the mountain first. Not far behind them, they heard the roar of the 26B.

Soon, the FC was on the tail end of the Mark II. Al was pushing hard but the FC had too much power now. He powered past him 10th uphill corner. Mei wasn't far ahead.

Mei was flooring his GTR. The front heavy car was gripping on the uphill. They swerved through the first hairpin set quickly, Nik actually over steering. Mei was surprised at how well Nik was coping with the power upgrade.

Mei was passed on the first long straight. Nik disappeared soon after. His car was performing amazingly. How was he driving with such speed, such skill? It was almost like it wasn't Nik.

-----------------------

Nik powered up past the orange Alcyone. It was getting easier as things went along, even though the suspension still felt tight. He powered up to the top of the mountain where he parked the RX7 and looked over.

The NSX sat across from him. It was orange. It was an NSX Type R. She was an experienced driver of touring cars. Figures she'd go to an NSX. It probably was either bored out to the maximum 3.3 liters and tuned to perfection or turbocharged to the highest extent.

She walked over towards him. He walked towards her. The gap was closed quickly. There they stood, facing each other. There faces were stoned cold. The sound of the RB26DETT, the 1GZ-GTE, and the EG33 was the only thing to break the silence.

She spoke first, "Nice car."

He spoke second, "Not to bad yourself."

She smiled, "Bored and stroked to 3.3 liters, putting out 500 hp."

He nodded, "Very impressive."

"Thank you, how about you?"

"2.6 N/A quad-rotary, 700."

"700? A little excessive?"

He shrugged, "I don't think so."

She smiled, "With that power the uphill will be too much. We'll run the downhill, winner take all."

"You still wanna race for pinks?"

She shook her head, "I think I might be staying in Japan a little longer then I thought, I'll need a car that can keep up."

"Scared you might lose?"

She smirked, "Horrified."

Nik smiled and then his eyes shed upon her in a caring way, "You look good Kim…"

She smiled, "You too Nik…"

Nik turned and walked back towards his FC3S. He looked at Mei and Al with a smile. It was a true smile, one they hadn't seen on Nik's face in a long time. They smiled back.

Nik drove his FC to the starting line. The NSX sat next to him. The GT car vs. the GT engine. They revved. They're power was differed, but the cars gave off a similar aura.

Jess (the Alcyone driver) walked to the starting line. She began the countdown from ten. Nik smiled and shook his head. He remembered that this could have been settled so long ago…

---------------------------

_She had agreed to drive him to the airport. She wanted to. She sighed because she was going to miss him. She hadn't spent much time with him, but she had fallen in love with him._

"_Turn left here."_

_She twitched, "I know where I'm going."_

"_Then you don't know how to get their fast."_

"_It's not all about going fast."_

"_It is when you're running."_

"_Running from what?"_

"_I'm just running."_

_She shut up. She should have just agreed. He was kinda deep sometimes. Sometimes he was scary. Like now. Why was he like this? Why wasn't he normal like normal people?_

_She pulled up to the airport and parked in the parking garage. She popped the hood for him so he could take out his bag. She sighed and walked with him into the airport. Mei and Al were already waiting. They had been. They got dropped off an hour or so before. _

_The flight calls came. She closed her fist and felt tears welling up in her eyes. She then felt a massaging hand on top of hers. She looked over at him with a smile._

_She stood up with him when his row was called. She watched as Mei and Al walked onto the plane. She looked at him and smiled through her pain. He returned her smile._

"_I guess this is it."_

"_Yeah, I guess so."_

"_Do you have to go?"_

"_Yeah, I do."_

"_Why?"_

"_My life is in Japan."_

"_Why can't your life be with me?"_

"_Because it just won't work out like that, I'll always hurt you."_

_Tears began to fall, "But I love you."_

"_I love you too."_

"_So why can we be together!"_

"_Shh, shh." He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. She grasped his shirt tightly. She didn't want him to go. She wanted him to be with her. She wanted him to love her._

_She almost fell when he let go of her. She watched him walk away towards the plane. She just wanted to go after him and stop him but she knew she couldn't. She walked over to the window and watched as the plane took off. _

_She sighed and walked back to her GT3. She got into the driver's seat and but her head on the steering wheel as her tears slowly soaked into her jeans. She whispered, "I love you Nik…I'll always love you…"_

She sighed and looked at Jess. She was at 3. She put the car into gear and waited another second before letting off of her clutch and taking off towards the first downhill corner.

She pulled ahead quickly as she had in all her other mountain races to date. She feint drifted around the uphill corner and then headed toward the next left. Another feint drift.

Unfortunately, using power overs wasn't something she could do in this car. The balance just let her grip the corner. When she drifted, she usually needed to swing the weight around to get the car to over steer.

Nik looked like he was fighting behind her. She fell to the inside and blocked him hard. Her car was a little long and it helped to fight him back when she drifted perpendicular with the road.

Kim powered hard through different turn and curves. She only gripped the lighter corners. She refused to slow down on hairpins. The Japanese mountains were and interesting thing.

Back home, the mountains were a lot easier. They were mostly wider. They also were a lot less crowded for curves. The straights were nearly non-exsistent. She had passed more then 10 curves and hit only one long straight.

Nik apparently had to fight with the corners on this mountain too. His car was acting very oddly indeed. The rear end was nearly jumping off the corners. They attacked a set of hairpins and Nik held tight to her rear end.

She powered through an aggressive left/right/left combo and watched as he held tight on the back of her. She was more then half way down the mountain. She was going to win as long as he didn't…

She heard the engine jump up to a higher RPM quickly. She glanced in her rear view mirror and watched the car fall into a high angle drift right behind her. What was he up to?

They were right at the last long set of S-curves. She accelerated around the lefts and rights. She looked behind him. He wasn't there. Then she saw him on her right. He was powering along the outside of the current turn.

He then took the inside of the next turn. Then the outside of the next. Then the inside of the next. Then the car accelerated hard and powered past her on the long end straight. It was floored it past the downhill finish line. She stared after it in awe.

Kim accelerated on the straight and followed Nik as he powered onto the freeway. She couldn't keep up on the highway. She barley could keep sight of the rear lights as they swerved through the highway traffic.

-------------------------------------------

Nik pulled off the highway at the next exit. He let off the throttle and coasted in neutral all the way to the Family diner in Akina. He parked the car and sighed. He stepped out, taking the keys with him and walking into the restaurant. He took a seat by the window.

The nice looking waitress brought him over a cup of coffee. He thanked her and drank it as cars came around back and forth from Akina. He counted them off. A Nissan 180SX…a Mitsubishi LanEvo VII… A Honda S2000… A Toyota Levin AE85…A RX7 FD…

"Holy crap, that thing is fast!"

He looked over at her, "On the straights yeah, but you saw me on the mountain. I was barley holding it together."

She shrugged as she sat down with her, "You seemed to doing decent until you downshifted to get the revs up."

He sighed, "I was really holding back…"

"How much?"

"I was shifting at 7000 RPM."

"Where's redline?"

"9500, 10,000?"

"Wow, really early, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but the power scares me."

"You're scared?"

"Like you wouldn't believe…"

"You've got bigger balls then I thought…"

He smirked, "You have no idea…"

She smiled, "That big, huh?"

"Can we stop talking about my testicles please?"

"Why? I find it an interesting topic."

"I'm just not interested in talking about my nuts right now, ok?"

"Why not?"

"Because I feel very uncomfortable with your huge ass tits."

"Oh, am I giving you a two inch woody?"

"Alright, you stop right there."

"It's not my fault I have 'something'."

"Yeah, a set of tits that will be sagging down to your feet in like twenty years."

"Better to have something now then nothing forever."

"How'd we move from horsepower to jugs in the last minute?"

She laughed lightly, "I don't know."

"You're playing me like a fiddle."

She smiled, "I play the piano."

Nik sighed and sipped down his black coffee, "You're amazing."

She shook her head, "No I'm not."

He sighed, "You wanna go up to Akina?"

"I've been there already."

"So?"

She smiled, "Sure."

Nik finished his coffee and walked out to his FC. He followed the orange NSX up to the top of the mountain where he parked in the parking lot and stepped out. He leaned against the hood as the headlights shone off the edge of the mountain. She sat on her own hood.

Nik sighed, "I love it out here."

She shrugged, "It's just a mountain."

He smiled, "You are such a street racer."

"Why?"

"You can't feel it."

"Feel what?"

"The Touge."

"What about the Touge?"

"The mountains aura flowing through your veins. The feel you get when you here the tires screech coming around a hairpin. The looks of the mountain as you're flying down it doing 150."

She smiled, "The spirit of the mountain and all that shit?"

He nodded, "All that shit."

She looked off the edge of the mountain again, shaking her head, "So how are you going to go about your car? Down tune the engine?"

He shook his head, "No, I'm going to go back to the basics and retrain myself to handle this car."

She smiled, "Want some help?"

He looked over with a smile, "Always."


	8. A Few New Plans

The tires of the RX7 screeched in the parking lot at the bottom of Mt. Myogi. Nik had decided to start over with learning how to control his car. He had decided step one was car control.

Kim sat in his passenger seat, hanging onto his overhead handle. She had agreed to help him. He had been glad she did. Nik continued to feather his throttle, using the clutch to get the revs up in first gear.

They were doing donuts. Nik shifted up into second gear and continued to slide the car around. He was starting to feel like he had a level of control on the vehicle. Everything was flowing well.

Nik let off the throttle and shifted into neutral as he slammed on the breaks to bring the car to a stop. He looked over at Kim who looked back with a satisfied smile on her face.

Nik sighed, "I'm starting to feel comfortable controlling the car like this."

She smiled, "That's good."

Nik sighed, "I think that I'm ready to hit the mountain for some practice at getting my speed up."

Kim gripped the handle again, "Let's go."

Nik hit the throttle and felt a little tire spin as he headed upwards on Myogi. Nik floored the throttle and watched the RPM rise until it sat at10,500 rpm. Nik shifted and looked at the road.

Corner one was approaching. Nik began to swerve, knowing how light these corners were. He would use them to increase speed and prepare for the first sharp curve.

Nik accelerated towards the corner at 150 kmh. He broke and heel-toe shifted as he entered the corner. He accelerated and feathered the throttle, sending the nearly bare rear tires into a high angle drift.

He regained traction using his front and then approached another single sharp turn. He broke and downshifted quickly, allowing the revs to shoot up, causing rear tire spin.

He drifted around that bend as well as the next one together. He then linked together the next set of hairpins. He was beginning to gain back speed. He was starting to feel in control.

His eyes floated onto the electronic speedometer. It clearly read 186 km/h. He smirked. His drifting was getting faster. The engine mixed with the cars weight made it a force to be reckoned with.

He broke hard half way up the course and swung the back end around 180 degrees. He then went back down the mountain. He didn't want to run it too much on Myogi. He had a lot more stuff to work on.

Nik turned onto the highway and downshifted into 3rd gear. He maintained highway speeds easily. He pulled off at the Akina exit. He began his way up the mountain and pressed down the accelerator harder.

His uphill run on Akina was smooth, although the course was still a little shaky to him. Ever since giving up his deliveries, remembering mountains correctly had become difficult, with the exception of the lake and Myogi.

He then heard the loud rev of an engine coming down Mt. Akina. Nik downshifted and pulled to the outside line. He looked to his left as some interesting vehicles passed him. USDM's.

The first was a 60's Chevelle Malibu SS that nearly clipped him as it took the corner. Nik had to pull into the shoulder and straighten out, causing a loss of speed. He then watched as another example of American muscle passed by him.

This one was a 1967 Camaro RS. It came through and the shifting sounded smooth as well as the amazing control of the under steer and over steer. His car was very well maintained for such an old model.

Then there was something he wasn't expecting. A newer Camaro SS, looked almost brand new. It was black and sounded tuned to perfection. All of these muscle cars sounded tuned to the max.

He sighed and pulled back into the inside lane about a moment to early. A Honda S2000 drifted seriously close to his car. It barley avoided him, but flashed her breaks at someone behind her to show he was there.

Soon, two more cars, a black and red FD and a LanEvo passed by on his outside. He sighed and looked at Kim, "Is Akina always this busy!"

Kim smiled, "Pretty much, big thing between the Dark Starz and the Southern Knights. Ever since Sagara stopped running with the speed stars, they're the two big teams on the mountain, although racing USDM doesn't get the Southern Knights much respect, plus they're American."

Nik shrugged, "It's pretty amazing having such heavy cars on the mountain passes. These guys most be really good at tuning suspension."

Kim looked at him oddly, "How do you know?"

"Weight adjustment. Everyone can drift JDM cars because the cars are mostly light weight with power made mostly from turbochargers."

"It's really not that hard to create over steer in a muscle car, especially with the power created by the large engines."

Nik nodded, "Yeah, but could you imagine taking a humongous, heavy car and taking it down a mountain pass where you have to control the weight almost perfectly when drift racing."

She nodded, "It must take a really tuned foot, plus the ability to have instant response from the throttle and brakes. On top of the engine, they would have to really adjust the suspension and set it up so it had a lot of pick-up."

He nodded, "My cousin, Mei, he had a 1979 Chevy Monte Carlo that had an automatic 4 speed. His technique started out with just a power over, and even then, he couldn't floor it until he hit the apex. Eventually he began to handle it in a way that he could induce a drift using trail braking, but it still was hard for him to master techniques that I took easy."

She shrugged, "Different cars, different tuning methods, it all has to fit together in order for a car to work well."

He nodded as he pulled over the top of the mountain and began towards Lake Akina. He pulled into the parking lot of the Akina Hotel. He sighed and looked at it, "So when are you getting a real place to live?"

She shrugged, "I'm broke, but Jess is back home in a few days after she sells her Alcyone and she's giving me half, so I'll probably go somewhere on that."

He shrugged, "Ok, good night."

Nik looked down at Kim's hand as she was getting ready to step out. She was gripping onto his bucket seat tightly. She let go and stepped out of his car, waving good bye as he turned around and drove away.

Nik was driving by the lower part of the mountain when a tall, American man waved him over. Nik sighed and pulled his FC3S into the parking lot. He then rolled down his window and asked, "What do you need?"

He shook his head, "Nothing, just saw you on the way up the mountain. Wanted to make sure you were alright."

Nik nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine, but your friend over there with the Chevelle almost hit me coming around the sharp, right hander up there."

He widened his eyes before narrowing them, "Oh, you're American!"

"Yeah, you didn't notice?"

He shook his head, "No, it would be surprising if a Japanese racer knew about a Chevelle, let alone GM."

He shrugged, "I s'pose when the Japanese think American cars, they think mostly Corvette."

He put out his hand, "I'm Kenneth."

Nik shook his hand, "Nik."

Nik stepped out of his FC and looked at him, "So you drive all these imported cars on the mountains?"

He nodded, "Yeah, it's a lot of fun out here."

He sighed, "You must really know how to handle these cars if you can control it on the mountain."

He shrugged, "Picked it up back home in South Carolina."

Nik nodded, "Cool."

He looked at his FC, "You've always driven JDM?"

He nodded, "Honda Accord CA1, Nissan 240SX S-13, now this."

He nodded, "To bad the best you could push out of one of these rotaries is around 450hp."

"I've got 700."

He looked at him, along with the eyes of his teammates.

He smiled. He had expected this reaction. He said, "It has the 26B engine extracted from the Mazda 787 race car."

"Where the hell did you get that?"

"Tokyo, a guy at the police academy helped me out."

He nodded, "Cool, so 700 huh? N/A?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

"I got a few problems with it still though..."

"Like…?"

"The suspension mostly. I can over steer, but it's tight in the front. The engines heavier then the other one, I need to adjust it to relieve some of the weight onto the back. You know, balance."

He nodded, "So the new engine made you front heavy?"

He nodded, "A bit."

He shrugged, "I guess we could take a look at it down at the shop if you're interested."

He smiled, "That'd be sweet."

"Can you bring it by tomorrow?"

"No, I can't, I've got work."

"I don't have to be in till 4 on tomorrow, how about then?"

He smiled, "That'll work, you know where the shopping district is?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

"Our shop is a mile down the road from there. It's called E³."

Nik smiled as he got into his FC, "Thanks a lot guys."

Nik smiled and drove away from the parking lot. Things were finally starting to look up for him. He smiled as he slid onto the highway and began to drive home. He decided to open it up a little bit for fun…

---------------------------

Al and Ross, driving with Pete, slid around a long left hand corner on Mt. Akagi. Al could feel his car lagging in comparison to Ross's upgraded engine. And it was tuned like nothing Al had ever seen.

Al pushed the car and flowed around a right hand turn on the outside, leaving room for cars racing up on the left. Akagi had flashers on the road that clearly showed oncoming cars. People knew when to fall back to there lanes on Akagi.

Al and Ross's cars floored the throttle coming around an aggressive hairpin as they began to slow down the speed as the lower lot began to become apparent. They both pulled into the side of the lot, parking close to each other as another set of cars headed up the mountain.

Al stepped out of his Mark II and walked over to the vending machines. He slammed his fist into a soda machine before taking out his money and buying one. He sighed and went back over to the trunk of his car where he leapt up onto it and sat.

Pete looked at him, "So, is little Al still a bit pissed about not having enough power?"

Al's eye twitched, "Shut up…"

Pete smiled, "Your car is fine, you just need to tune it a little."

"Like how?"

"Clean it out, port and polish, get some new headers, buy a…"

"Which one of us is broke?"

"Get a job."

"I have a job."

Ross walked over to the hood of his Chaser, "From what you told us, it sounds more like you have an early morning chore."

He shrugged, "I guess, but I can't really argue. I basically got my 86 for free. I bet it was Nik's way of payback."

Ross shrugged, "I guess, how much did you say you got?"

"Around a half million yen."

Ross laughed, "You do realize these days even a tuned 86 is only worth about 350,000 yen?"

Al sighed, "I can't argue. My bro will not give me any money. Back home, he leant me at least 500 dollars by the time he turned 18. I bet he's taking that out to, plus room and board. His stupid head takes in all that crap."

Pete shrugged, "I guess it evens out after that."

Al sighed, "So how the hell am I supposed to get headers or get someone to port and polish it?"

Ross raised his hand, "I can port and polish it for you."

Al smiled lightly, "Thanks man, but it won't get me much higher then 300 there. You guys have 400."

Ross sighed, "It cost me almost 5000 US dollars to get this thing up to where it's at now and I'd guess that somewhere in here, there's still room for improvement."

"5 g's, huh? Expensive."

"A bit, but I'd say it was well worth it."

Al shrugged, "So how's your team coming along?"

"So far, I have one member whose already part of the Blak Nites."

Al smiled, "Well, running with you guys would be better I think. I barley see any action racing with Nik."

"Speaking of Nik, I really want to see what he's working with. Is he almost finished tuning his FC?"

Al shrugged, "He went out tonight with his friend to practice, so I don't know."

Ross leaned back and sipped down the rest of his soda, "700hp rotary…"

"N/A rotary"

"The things N/A?"

Al nodded with a smirk, "Nik told me last night. I could barley believe it. It's like they put a V8 engine in the thing, tuned."

"Yeah, but I'm surprised he held up last night, driving the car without adjusting the suspension."

"He seemed to handle it pretty well."

Ross nodded, "That's not what I'm worried about…"

"The frame, right?"

Ross nodded, "Yup."

Al looked like he'd just fallen into the middle of the conversation, "What?"

"The thing probably has a lot of torque. I'm worried without properly adjusting the frame, it'll twist."

"Twist?"

Pete nodded in agreement, "It happened to my friend Justin, he had a drag car that he built up the engine in without thinking about doing any work to the body. All the torque began to twist the frame on his seventh or eighth run."

"I think Nik has 620 ft-lbs of torque…"

"Did he ever reinforce the frame?"

Al shook his head, "No, the car was only lightly modified before."

Pete shrugged, "You better get that thing into a shop soon before it starts to twist. I'd give Nik a warning if I was you."

Al nodded and threw out his soda can, "Thanks guys, where do you want to meet tomorrow?"

Ross shrugged, "We could head over to Irohazaka I guess. I haven't seen the mountain to date."

Pete nodded, "And we could also hit Mount Tochigi."

Al nodded, "I'll meet you guys at your place at five and we could head out."

Al nodded and stepped into his Mark II, heading back for home. Mei and Nik were probably worried…

---------------------------

Mei slid hard around the sharp, left hand hairpin on the base of the uphill of Mt. Tochigi. It was starting to get difficult for him to pull away from Kev and Sara. They were getting better.

He sighed and adjusted his angle so he was sliding tighter. They still kept up. He supposed this is what he wanted, but he didn't think it would happen so soon. The uphill drivers were the same way.

Jen and Sato had begun to really approach the downhill with a much clearer attitude. It was no longer about drift or grip to them. It was about who was faster. And now it seemed like Mei was failing in that department.

Mei smiled. His own team was beating him down. This was what he wanted. He was sure of it. The problem was, he didn't want to leave them on their own. He liked driving with them.

Mei pulled around to the top of the mountain and pulled his E-brake, spinning his car around in the parking lot. Sara did the same and Kevin swung his around using the throttle.

Mei stepped out and looked over at Jen and Sato who were sitting and talking by their cars. Sara walked over next to Mei and Kev sat across from them on the hood of his GTS.

Kev smiled, "You looked a little shaky back their bro."

Mei twitched his eyes, "You must have been imagining things…"

Sara clung to his arm, "That's not what I saw babe…"

Mei sighed, "So I was taking it a little easy tonight…"

Jen had walked over and now sat next to Kevin, "How much RPM were you at most of the time?"

He shrugged, "I don't know…"

She smirked, "Sounded like your RB26 was revving kind of high…"

"Must have mistaken it for Kev's RB25."

She narrowed her eyes, "I could here the turbo."

Mei shrugged, "I guess you need an ear exam."

Sato sighed, "Stop making up excuses."

Mei sighed, "I've got to go."

Sara looked almost saddened at his words, "Why?"

"I've got to set up our race."

"With who?"

Mei pointed to his rear quarter panel. Jen's eyes bulged along with Sara's. Sato stood speechless. Kevin smiled. They all were surprised. It had only been a month or so and he thought they were already ready?

Kevin smiled as he watched the R32 drive away. He then looked at Jen, "So what do you think? Me and you? Sara and you? Sato and me?"

Jen shrugged, "Knowing Mei, he'll make us decide how we race."

"So who?"

"I don't know. I'd think you and me since we're the fastest on Tochigi."

"You think we're racing on Myogi?"

"I wouldn't doubt it. He'd probably do it as another test."

Jen smiled, "I can't believe it'll be us against the Nites…"

----------------------------

Sorry for the limited racing action, I needed a building chapter. I'm setting up for most of the rest of the book, with a couple of exceptions. Hope ya'll enjoy. KiosukeX, if you're still reading, then I hope you think I did a good job with your characters. SouthSideSlider, likewise.


	9. The Mountain Circuit Race: Part 1

Nik sighed as he pulled off into Akina. He then drove over to the Family restaurant. He parked next to an orange NSX and then walked into the restaurant. He smiled and sat down next to her. He said, "Good morning."

She smiled, "Good morning."

He sighed and leaned back, "Did you order something?"

"What do you think?"

He shrugged, "Alright, then lets get going."

She stood up and walked out in front of him. Nik watched her step into her NSX and start up the 3.3 L V6. Nik did the same as he roared his 2.6 L Quad-rotor engine to life.

The cars drove out of the parking lot. They headed over to the E³ shop. Kim parked outside and Nik pulled inside next to a RUF BTR where Kenneth stood with another man who looked to be in his mid-twenties.

Kenneth said good bye to the man who walked outside and left in what sounded like an exceptionally powerful car. Kenneth walked over to Nik and then looked at Kim, "Your girlfriend?"

Nik shook his head, "No, just a friend. This is Kim."

He shook her hand, "You have a nice car."

"How'd you know?"

"I heard it when you parked. It's a Honda, right? Accord? Integra?"

She shook her head, "NSX."

He whistled, "Very nice."

She smiled with a nod, "Thank you, your BTR is nice as well, although I didn't see it on the mountain last night."

He shrugged, "It's got 2500 hp, I use it on Wangan."

She nodded, "That's cool."

Nik butted in on the conversation, "Yeah, so about my suspension…"

Kenneth nodded, "Right."

He bent down and looked at the shocks behind the tire. He also examined the dampers as well as the axle. He then stood up and asked, "How much hp did you say this thing had?"

"700 is what it's marked at, but it supposedly can go up to 900."

"So what's the marked torque?"

"It's at 620."

"Hmmm…"

"What are you 'hmmm'ing about?"

"Nothing. I can get everything taken care of for you but it won't be in time for you to go to work."

"That's alright; she can give me a ride."

"Ok then, come and pick it up tomorrow morning."

"Is there a chance you could finish it tonight."

"Definitely."

"Cool, I'll come by when I get out of work."

"Ok, by the way, how do you want the weight set up?"

"45 in the front and 55 in the back."

"A bit rear heavy?"

"I find it adds a bit of traction. I'll be here around 10."

He shrugged, "Alright, see you tonight around 10."

Nik nodded and walked away from the shop with Kim next to him. Nik got into the passenger seat of her NSX and sighed as he put the three point safety belt over his shoulders.

Kim got into the car and looked over at him, "I know what he was humming about."

"What?"

"He's going to reinforce the frame so it can handle the higher torque. That way it won't twist."

"Oh, that makes sense."

She nodded and started up the car before pulling onto the road. She drove away from Akina and got on the highway. They were headed towards Tokyo so she could drop off Nik.

It took them a little over an hour to get to Tokyo. Then Nik had to give her step by step directions on how to get to Gurume Tokyo. She parked and sat in the car with him for a minute.

He asked, "Do you want to come in?"

She shook her head, "No it's fine."

"Thanks for giving me a ride."

Her head shook again, "No problem."

"You've done a lot for me these last couple of days. I really do appreciate it."

She sighed and put a smile on her face, "It's fine, just go alright?"

"Ok, ok, chill out."

Nik stepped out of the car and walked into the closed restaurant. They didn't open til 2. He waved to the waitstaff and Amber who were sitting in the private dining room going over the days specials.

Amber looked at him, "What are you doing here two hours early?"

"My cars in the shop again so a friend of mine dropped me off."

Nik looked behind him as the door opened, "Nik, listen I'm so…"

"Kim?"

"Amber?"

Both girls ran right in front of Nik who jumped back in fear of becoming meat between a female sandwich. (Tell me that don't sound wrong.) He then looked on as they hugged each other tightly.

Nik asked, "Did I miss something here?"

Amber smiled as she let go of Kim, "Why didn't you tell me you were in Japan!"

"Because I thought you were still in New York."

"Oh my god, why did you come here?"

The room suddenly got quiet as Kim looked over at Nik and then back away. She smiled, "The cars."

"You are a freaking grease monkey…"

Nik butted in, "You know her?"

Amber nodded, "Me and her were like best friends back in high school."

Kim nodded as well, "Yup, I'm surprised she never mentioned you."

"Oh, that's because I knew you wouldn't be interested."

"In a cute guy who was a street racer? Who could I not be?"

Nik choked a little bit and then Amber said, "Jen."

Nik was about to jump out and stop her when Kim asked, "Who's Jen?"

"Nik's high school love, of which they were almost never apart. She was in my cooking class at the tech school."

Kim studdered, "O—oh."

Amber nodded, "That was back when you drove around in that stupid Nissan."

Nik's eyes narrowed, "I loved that Nissan?"

"Still driving a stupid car like that here?"

"No, I'm driving a maz…da…"

She smiled, "Told you."

Nik shrugged and looked at Kim, "Are you going to be sticking around?"

Kim nodded, "To talk to Amber."

"Do you want something to eat?"

She looked at him as though he'd just offered her breast implants, "Do I look like I need food with all this fat?"

"You're not…never mind." He walked into the kitchen without another word. He looked over at Chaz who was cutting up lettuce for salads, "Have you ever noticed that women are clinically insane?"

-------------------------------

Al sat on the roof with Miki, holding her in his arms and kissing her gently. He'd lately found more interesting things to do on his free periods with her. He smiled and kept kissing her until a loud bang pulled them apart.

Al looked over at the door that led to the roof and saw Pete standing there out of breath. He looked over, "Pete, what's going on?"

Pete ran over to where the fence was and pointed down. Alex stood up with Miki and looked down at the silver Chaser that sat there and the dark haired man who was waving up at them.

Al, Pete, and Miki ran down the stairs until they got outside by Ross and Al asked, "What are you doing here at 2:00? Class doesn't get out till 4:00."

"Dude, me and Pete got challenged by some gay FF team called 'Frontal Force'. They challenged us to an uphill and a downhill run and I was wondering if you'd race with us."

"Man, I'm part of the Blak Nites. How am I supposed to run with you?"

"Please man, I need you."

"Dude, I…I…I'm in."

"Seriously!"

"Yeah, I'll go grab my regular clothes out of my locker and then meet you at my car."

Al ran, Miki followed, to his locker where he grabbed his back pack and stuffed his clothes into it. Miki asked, "You're gonna skip?"

He nodded, "Yup."

"But what if you get caught?"

"I won't, I barley went to school back home and I only got caught twice."

"But…"

"Take notes for me?"

"Don't I always?"

Al smiled and kissed her before he ran outside and into the school parking lot. He saw Pete and Ross sitting by their car next to his. He got into his Mark II and started up the engine.

He followed Pete and Ross out of the school parking lot and down the long road towards the Highway. They got on it and began to power around cars that sat ahead of them. They needed to practice on the mountain before they could truly race on it.

------------------------------

Nik sat in the passenger seat of Kim's car as she smiled while they powered down the Wangan highway. She looked over at him, "What's got you so down tonight?"

"You're in love with my boss…"

"Calm down, we only slept together like 8 or 9 times."

"That doesn't change the fact that I slept with my boss."

"We just slept in the same bed…"

"If I was in a bed with someone as hot as you, I don't think I'd…"

"Amber's not you, you pervert."

Nik shrugged as Kim pulled into the fast lane on the Wangan highway and took of towards Akina. They got there in 45 minutes and pulled up next to the E³ shop. They walked in next to each other.

Kenneth looked over at him, "Hey man, just finished up an hour ago."

He nodded, "So what did you do?"

"I went over to a parts shop and got a set of Tein shocks and struts then I came back and installed them. I also reinforced your frame so that the torque won't twist on your frame. I also got you a fully customizable LSD, that way you can adjust it to how you'd like."

"That's great, thank you. How much do I owe you?"

"A race."

"What?"

"You heard me. I want to race you on Akina. My team vs. your team."

"I can't do that right now. My team mates are only running 300hp. They're not ready."

"So? It's the touge. Power won't matter."

Nik sighed, "…I'll ask…"

Nik reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone as it began to ring. He looked at the screen before he answered, "Hey man, I was just about to call you."

"What about?"

"We got challenged on Akina by the Southern Knights. I was wondering if you were up to it."

He nodded, "Sure, but we've got problems. There's a team here called Rage who wants to challenge us."

"What? Who's Rage?"

"There a small team from Tochigi."

Nik sighed, "Well that sucks. We can't race two teams tonight."

Kenneth said, "We can have a three way race on Akina if you're interested."

Nik looked behind him and then said to Mei, "You hear that?"

"Yeah, that would work. I'll meet you at the top of the mountain in a bit. Later."

Nik nodded, "Let's go to the top of Akina. My team mates and the other team will meet us there."

Kenneth nodded and his team mates lead the way to the summit of Mt. Akina. There, they saw four members of another racing team sitting at the top of the mountain. It was the Dark Starz.

Nik looked over as the leader, Kiosuke, walked over to the Southern Knights and said, "We're practicing tonight, get lost."

Kenneth smirked, "I have a race with these guys and another team showing up soon."

"You have to beat us to race."

"Uh-uh, all of you cheat using your three on three battle."

"I'll beat you straight up any time Kio, any time."

Kio clenched his fist before Nik stepped in, "Why don't all four teams race?"

Kenneth looked over to him, "That sounds like fun, but we can't do it on Akina."

Nik then heard the rev of five distinct engines coming up the mountain. He looked over at the last corner and saw them come around the bend, Mei in front. Mei pulled up next to Nik followed by a green S-13.

Nik's eyes followed the driver of the green S-14 as he got out of the car. He walked over towards them and introduces himself, "I'm Sato of Rage."

He shook his hand with a nod, "Nik of the Blak Nites. I heard you roll on Mt. Tochigi."

"Hai."

"Well, I was wondering if we could run a four-way battle on your turf."

"Because of the circular road pattern?"

Nik nodded and Sato agreed, "Sure, let's get going."

Nik nodded and looked at Mei, "Where's Al?"

"I called him up, but he says he can't make it."

"Where is he?"

"You won't believe it…"

----------------------------------

Al sat at the top of the mountain and looked at his watch. 10:30. Where were they? He looked over at Pete and Ross looking at a map on their hood. He walked over and looked down at it, "What are you doing?"

Pete spoke without looking up, "We're looking over the course to see were the best uphill passing point is."

"It's the fourth to last turn."

Ross looked up at him and then back to the map before looking back at him, "How do you figure?"

"It's wider because of the parking lane on the left and a lightly tuned FF will under steer on that turn if it doesn't heel toe down to the optimum speed. Therefore, if you pressure the driver into going faster, he'll under steer and fall to the outside were you can drift on the inside because it's more of a horizontal corner then a vertical one."

Pete and Ross stared at him, "What about the downhill?"

"I don't know. Using the same technique that early would be stupid. I guess I'll just pull something out of my ass."

Pete sighed, "That's a great plan man."

Al smiled, "I know, isn't it great?"

Al turned around as a ton of FF cars came up the mountain. Two FF's came up to the top, they were brand new cars. The first was a Honda Integra DC4 that sounded turbocharged and tuned. The other was a Mitsubishi FTO DE3A. It also sounded tuned with its V6 roaring loudly.

They parked and two guys stepped out. They walked over and introduced themselves, "I'm Horu and this is my friend Saiito."

Ross nodded, "I'm Ross, this is my brother Pete, and our good friend Al."

Saiito nodded, "Cool, I'll be running the downhill in my FTO and Horu will handle the uphill in his DC4."

Pete looked at them, "How much horsepower do you have on those things?"

Horu shrugged, "My Integra has 350 and the FTO has around 350 too I think."

Saiito nodded, "Yeah, but mine is N/A."

Ross nodded and looked at Al, "Hey, be careful. They only seem nice."

Ross and Pete drove down the mountain followed by half of Frontal Force. Al got into his Mark II and whipped the backend around to face downwards before pulling on the side of the road.

Al heard the start of the race and listened as the cars made their way up the mountain. He waited for them to get to the top. He was nervous; even though it wasn't the first time he's raced a car with more HP then his.

He rubbed his hands together and leaned back in his stock seat. He looked around at all the FF's. There were so many. A Pulsar HN15, a MX-6, A Celica ST202, A Civic EK9, the list went on and on.

Al sighed. He was nervous. He hadn't had a real race since before winter. He looked out at the mountain. Pete and Ross had to be half way done by now. He sighed and thought about the race that was inevitably coming…

--------------------------------

The teams pulled up to the bottom parking lot of Mt. Tochigi. They got out and Sato, Kenneth, and Kiosuke walked up to Nik's FC. They stood around like they were planning a heist or something.

Nik spoke first, "Knowing Tochigi's track, we should run a few laps."

Sato said, "It takes me a bit less then seven minutes to run the uphill and the downhill together."

Kenneth nodded, "Then we'll go up and down 4 times. That should take around a half hour."

Kiosuke nodded, "That sounds fair. Also, for fairness, I say that the lower HP cars drive in front."

Kenneth nodded, "Then I guess that the Chevelle will ride the tail end and that your buddy Mei will race front."

Nik nodded, "Alright then, we'll line up in both lanes. How many are racing?"

Kenneth replied, "Every team puts out three."

Nik looked over at him concerned, "My third isn't here tonight."

Kenneth nodded, "Use the chick in the NSX."

"But I…"

"We'll start in five."

Nik watched as the team leaders separated and he walked back over to Mei. He looked down at him as he kneeled by his window. He sighed and said, "I think we need to run with Kim."

"Why!"

"Because they want to run a three on three, so we have to."

"Grrr…fine."

"We're running by horsepower, so you're in front."

"Cool, where are you?"

"Third to last."

"And Kim?"

"5th to last."

"So I have to hold back Rage and the Dark Starz by myself?"

"Just pull ahead. I'll work with Kim and get up to you. The Dark Starz should be only a bit difficult considering they're on a new course and can't use their famous darkness drift, but watch out for it on the third or fourth lap."

"And Rage?"

"I don't know, do what you can."

"Alright, it'll be up to you if the higher HP guys pull up front."

"I'll work on that. Hopefully Rage and the Starz will get into it and you'll have free rein of the mountain."

He sighed as he started his engine and pulled to the front, "I hope so…"

Nik walked over to Kim and kneeled by her window. He breathed in deep and asked, "Would you mind racing with us tonight?"

"Why?"

"Because we're running a three on three and Al as racing in Nikko."

"I don't know Nik; I don't think that it'll work well."

"Why not?"

"We don't have a rhythm together. We couldn't attack them equally."

"Then we'll build one. We've driven together before remember, with the cops…"

"Oh! I remember…"

Nik smiled, "Please?"

She sighed, "Fine, where am I starting?"

"In front of the older Camaro. I'll be right behind the newer one."

"Ok." She pulled up to her spot which happened to be next to the FD of Kiosuke. Behind her sat both Camaros and then there was the Chevelle which Nik pulled up next to.

Mei was in front next to Honda S2000. Behind him sat a LanEvo and a S-14 and behind them was a Skyline GTS and the FD of Rage. The cars started they're engines and revved high.

The female FD driver from the Dark Starz walked up to the line to count everyone down. The front line took off at 1, followed by everyone behind. The mountain was alive with headlights and roars from all 4 teams. The Mountain Circuit Race had begun.

--------------------------------------------

I can just see how that sounds, like some national race. "The Mountain Circuit Race! Watch idiots race around a dangerous mountain at high speeds in the dark!" Eh, I like the idea, plus I needed another extended chapter. I figured graphing out this race would take a while, not to mention penciling in all against that FTO. Also, if anyone knows, is the FTO the Japanese version of the American 3000GT SL, or the FF 3000GT? I know that the 30000GT VR-4 is the GTO, but I didn't know if they just changed the drive train to FWD to make it cheaper for the American markets or just to use it along with the Dodge Stealth, which is set up on the same platform. I was reading something in Import Racer today about the Silvia and it just got me thinking about butchered Japanese cars here in the good ol' USA. I've been looking into picking up one for a daily driver also. Thanks, later!


	10. The Mountain Circuit Race: Part 2

Al watched as Pete and Ross sped by the line ahead of the Integra and skidded to a stop. Al smiled and walked over to their car, "How was it?"

Ross smiled, "He refused to pull ahead at the start so I ended up having the lead up until the fifth or sixth corner. I oversteered lightly and he took the inside. Then I passed on the 4th to last like you said. It was fucking beautiful."

Al smiled, "Congratulations."

He smiled, "Thanks, you're up man, and I think I have an Idea."

"Well?

"He has more power then you, so he'll dominate in the immediate take off. The curves of Irohazaka don't become apparent until a little bit into the course, so give him a false sense of security."

"Ok, then what?"

"Then wait for your opportunity, even if it seems like it comes early. Take it and win, alright man?"

Al nodded, "You got it."

AL pulled up to the starting line next to the white FTO. The FTO's V6 was a powerful engine, and turbocharged it was even worse. Al sighed as he stopped at the line and idled as a member of the opposing team came to the line. He started the countdown quickly.

At one he hit the throttle and began his way down the mountain behind the FTO, which was very quick of the line. He shifted into third gear and followed him through the first light corner.

He continued until they reached the first difficult turn. He downshifted and watched as the FTO began to over steer as if it was an FR, with the front wheel's smoking. It was an amazaing turn.

Al continued to follow him down the mountain while the FTO used the same technique on almost every corner. He kept his eyes open for an opportunity, but he didn't think it would come very easily to him.

---------------------------

Mei checked his rearview as the headlights shone heavily behind him. He had told Rage to not hold anything back, but he didn't expect them to be this good. The S2000 had pulled ahead of him, so it was leading. He was fighting back Sara and Kevin on the uphill. Behind, he saw Jen and the other FD going at it. The other cars were hard to see, but could be heard loudly. The mountain was a roar.

Mei wanted to pull ahead and take the S2000, but he couldn't because of the drivers behind him. If he want offensive, the combined ability of the Rage uphill team would overtake him and the S2000 easily. From there, they could push him back and help Jen pull ahead. He had to keep them separate. He just had to wait for Nik and Kim…

_Meanwhile…_

Kim drifted through the corners with the RS Camaro on her tail. She couldn't pull away. The FD she was with took off from the start while she held back. She was starting to wish she hadn't.

She looked behind her and saw the other two muscle cars with Nik. They were behind him but he seemed to be struggling on the uphill. She had to wait. He was a downhill racer after all.

_A little farther back…_

Nik picked up his cell phone and dialed Kim's number. They had to make a plan. After receiving a 'not-so-nice' answer from Kim, he three way called Mei and then connected all the calls.

He asked, "Kim, how are you?"

"I could pass the FD's ahead of me, but this damn Camaro would follow me through right on my ass. They really have a lot of pedal control."

Nik nodded, "I know the feeling. I'm pretty sure they're waiting to spring something on the downhill; I want to wait and see. Mei?"

"Well, I'm…Hold on, hairpins."

Nik tucked his cell phone in his seat belt and took the turns. Behind him, the Knights where driving in an erratic pattern around the vehicles. They'd been doing it for a while, that's how he knew they were up to something."

Nik picked his phone back up and asked, "We'll?"

"The S2000 is ahead of me, but I could pass. The problem is that if I switch from defensive to offensive, the ER33 and LanEvo behind me will take me over."

"Alright, but what about on the downhill?"

"I could probably pass ok."

"Then wait until we get there. Then I'll see what the Knights are planning and you can make your move on the S2000. Kim, hold tight and don't let that Camaro pass you. I'll call back after the downhill."

Nik hung up his phone and got back to being serious. He hit the gas and caused over steer around the previous corner. The car was handling a lot better. They did a good job. They passed the last corner and began to loop around to go down the downhill.

-----------------------------------

Al had began to see the harder part of the course. He was tailing close to the back end of the Integra. Yet he still couldn't pass. The ability of this car to over steer was amazing.

Al upshifted as he drove down the straight. He was recalling the mountain over and over again in his head. He couldn't find a point where he could pass, especially now that he was drifting.

Al broke along a solid line as he turned into the left hand hairpin and then into the right. He just couldn't pull ahead. He gritted his teeth and pressed down harder on the throttle.

He was gripping more now, but the car ahead was still pulling ahead. Al kept looking for an open line, but nothing was popping up. This car had an amazing ability to block.

Al could only guess that the cars rear tires were as bald as his uncle. That was the way he got them to slide. If he combined that with a heavy rear end, he could maintain a drift longer in an FF.

Still didn't help Al find a passing line. He decided to try the outside. He gassed up as they entered a hairpin turn. He held off breaking until after he passed the FTO and then accelerated.

He caused some over steer right next to the rail. He watched as the FTO followed through, much more grip then drift with this turn. It's like with the touch of a button he changed the car from drift to grip.

Al concentrated hard on his turning. This was the closest he'd ever been to a car in front of him. There had to be less then an inch between them. He knew as the car turned, he wouldn't be able to maintain his angle.

He let off the gas and watched as the FTO pulled ahead again and he fell back. He then get on the throttle again and went after him. He sighed and shifted into a higher gear as he thought of where he would be able to pass or if he would be able to at all.

------------------------------------

Mei clutched in and downshifted as he turned into the corner. He looked at the rear view mirror and saw the Evo and the ER33. He downshifted and fully drifted into the corner.

The Evo fell back. The downhill was not Sara's specialty. Kev, on the other hand, worked the downhill very well in his N/A GT-S. It was front heavy like his old Supra and he was able to use it to carry his car through the corners.

Mei had to slow down more then usual to be able to adjust himself with the S2000. Kev was still on his ass. The more the car followed a tight line, the less of passing opportunity was left.

Mei drifted on the outside line next to the S2000. He then drove along the outside of her as the curve finished. He had the inside of the next turn and forced her back so he could take the lead. He smiled.

On the next straight, he got a good look at the line up. The FD's and LanEvo were closing fast on Sara. It wasn't surprising, since Sara's car had only been lightly tuned up till now.

He could make out the lights of Kim's NSX with the ones of the older Camaro. Nik and the other two racers were farther back apparently. He groaned and turned into another hairpin, noticing that the S2000 was blocking Kevin from using the same passing maneuver.

Mei hit the gas. With them battling, He could push his car ahead before the higher HP cars reached him. The lead would help. He just hoped that Nik and Kim would catch up soon.

_A little farther back…_

Her eyes faded back and forth between the road and the car behind her. Then she looked at Nik and the other two. They were about halfway down the downhill run.

She then looked at Nik. He was struggling and those cars were closing. She wanted to now what they were doing. They were moving so weird. Why would they race like that?

Then the plan was sprung. As she entered a hairpin, the RS Camaro broke hard. She did in retaliation. Then as Nik entered the corner, both cars swerved in front of him.

Nik had to brake to avoid his front end being smashed in by the muscle cars. They then returned to the same swerve pattern behind Kim. Kim soon found herself dealing with another heavily braking car in front of her. The new Camaro pulled along side her and the other one held back.

As she entered the next turn, the Camaro pulled along the inside with the Chevelle pushing him on his bumper. They both passed her and she fell back to the end by Nik. She pulled along side him and looked into his window.

He mouthed the words, "Follow my lead." She decided to go with it. Nik pulled behind her and she lead into a corner. As she was on the inside, going at medium speed, Nik passed her on the outside. Then on the next turn, Kim passed him on the outside.

They continued moving like that and Kim noticed how they were gaining speed. The cars swerved back and forth. The soon where on the tail end of the USDM's. Kim smiled and looked over at Nik. Then the uphill was coming upon them.

Kim looked at the side as the LanEvo from Rage pulled over and the S-14 took off. They were switching places. Kim was worried. She didn't know how good this S-14 was. It was behind them. She sighed and continued the pattern, even though it slowed them down on the uphill.

---------------------------------

Al downshifted and drifted into a corner hard. The FTO was still ahead. He was getting ticked off. He didn't feel a flow and the unstoppable corners of Irohazaka were getting to him.

He sighed and upshifted along the straight. He wanted to pass. He needed to pass. There were only ten corners left. He had to pass. He just had to. He hit the throttle and looked down the road at the next turn.

He slid along the outside of the turn. The road was tight at the end. He'd have to pass on a straight, meaning focusing on coming out faster. It would be difficult because the turbo will experience lag when exiting the curve, meaning he needs to figure out a way to pass the V6 FTO fast and quick. Thing's weren't looking very good.

Al powered hard into the next turn and then the next. He didn't want to let up. He gritted his teeth and powered hard, putting himself on the tail of the FTO. They tandem drifted through then next corner. Al tried to force the FTO to the outside of the turn.

He entered the next curve faster then any other on Irohazaka and pushed the FTO to the outside. He slammed on his breaks and once again tandem drifted, close enough to reach out and touch the FTO.

He hit the gas, causing the RPM to shoot up and the rear tires to spin. The turbo lagged and then rose up as his back end slid more, tapping on the FTO's rear bumper. Then he shot ahead lightly. He then turned in for the second curve, nearly scraping the front end of the FTO.

He counter steered and rode along the inside guard rail. He slid out at the end and feathered the throttle, trying to let his speed down slowly. He then entered the next curve, totally losing the FTO in the dust. He passed the finish line 5 seconds ahead.

He breathed out heavy as he pulled to the side of the road. He felt his cell phone ringing. He reached into his pocket and called heard Ross talking on the other line. He smiled as he told him he won…

--------------------------------

Nik and Kim continued to slide between each other, as their rhythm became smoother and they began to mix up the technique, while alternating corners became less of a hassle and more of an art.

The USDM cars were ahead of them and head worked their way past the FD's and were now working on the S-14 and S2000. Mei still had the lead although he was no contending with the ER33 and Evo VIII

Nik rang Mei and Kim again, who answered slightly better then last time before they started their mid-race strategy meeting. Nik waited until a straight to start talking.

Nik asked, "How are things up front?"

Mei replied, "I have the lead, but the USDM's are gaining fast. They've made all the other cars go faster so they're all right on my ass. I'm good for the lead though, at least till the downhill."

Nik nodded, "Alright, Kim, have you gotten a feel for the driving pattern?"

"Yeah, I'm starting to feel a rythym. If we use it on the downhill, we might just pull ahead."

"Ok, be careful though. That S-14 has me a bit scared."

Mei raised his eyebrow, "The S-14?"

"Yeah, they switched him in for a reason and I want to know why."

"Ok, see you on the way down."

They all hung up and then hit the course just as hard as before, they had to with the way the Knights were driving. When the downhill came, Nik and Kim sprung open on the Knights.

There patterns meshed as they went down the mountain. Nik got Kim ahead and then he started fighting to get past the Chevelle. With its drift pattern, it was impossible to get by with out ramming through it, which would be hard considering the weight difference.

Kim was in front, dealing with the Camaros driving in their swerve pattern. Kim began to swerve with them, trying to figure out their pattern. It was very difficult. She attempted and failed at passing twice.

Mei held the lead, but figured out something about Sato. He was a downhill racer. His S-14 was following a perfect grip line, with no unwanted slippage in the rear. He was moving so fast, he couldn't even be stopped by the ER33 or the EVOVIII.

He caught up to Mei's back end in no time. He began to accelerate harder and attack the corners. With more speed, the car only managed to slip more. He hadn't replaced his tires in a while and it was beginning to show.

More and more, Mei found himself in a tandem drift with Sato. The damn bastard had had a lot of experience in track racing. That's one of the two reasons he got picked for the team.

Mei and Sato battled through the front curves as the speeds kept increasing and increasing. The USDM's had slowed and were now in a battle while all the other cars kept fighting as the Tochigi hairpins continued to take their toll.

Mei had figured that Sara had pulled out because of the pressure on her caused by the full course run, but apparently they had some sort of strategy cooked up. He had taught them well.

As the downhill finished and the uphill started up again, the line up was Mei, Sato, Kev, Juju, Kiosuke, Jen, Ryoko, Kenneth, Richard, Kim, Brandon, and then Nik. The mountain still looked like a Christmas tree.

------------------------------------

Al smiled as he downed the soda Ross had bought him at the restaurant. He was so happy to race tonight, although he was finally starting to see the lack of power in comparison to other cars.

Al looked behind him as a couple of guys walked over and sat at a table across from them. Then they looked over at Ross. It took Ross a second to realize they were looking at him.

Ross asked, "Something wrong?"

The guy who seemed like the leader shook his head, "No, it was just, we were at the race and we saw you run. You were amazing. This is my team; we're called 4-door drift, or just 4D. We're all sedan racers."

"Cool, I always liked sedan racers."

"Yeah, well, we we're wondering if you might want to race with us. We could probably learn from you and rise up a better rep."

"What are you guys driving?"

"My names Washi, I have a Nissan Skyline ER33 Sedan turbo." He points to his right, "This is Yaru, he has a Nissan Laurel GCC35 turbo and the guy next to him is Saru, he has a Toyota Celsior UCF20. In front of him is Nobu, he has a Nissan Cedric PBY32.""

Ross nodded, "Not bad, I'm Ross and this is my co-driver Pete and our team mate Al. I've got a Chaser and Al has a Mark II."

Washi nodded, "Cool, so, will you guys join up with us?"

Pete nodded, "Why not Ross?"

Ross nodded, "Al?"

Al shook his head, "You're decision, I'm a Nite."

"Dude, come on. You know you want to run with us."

"I know, but my bro…"

"Al, you're 17. You're a big boy, decide. I want you to race with us."

"Man, I…"

"Dude, take your time. We'll always be here for you man."

Al smiled, "Thanks man."

Al stood up and walked away. He walked down to his car and started it up. He listened to the engine idle. He smiled. He hit the gas pedal and the rear tires spun as he pulled out of his parking space.

--------------------------

Nik looked ahead at the Chevelle ahead of him. This would be quite a feat, to pass this amazingly wide car. Nik attacked the corners as hard as possible, trying to find the inside line he wanted.

He growled and looked ahead at Kim. The separation wouldn't allow them to be able to work together. He sighed. She was good. She'd be fine. He had to worry about himself.

He upshifted and though over the course. The downhill was where the action was. He had to think of how to pass the monster of a car ahead of him. He'd have to use some power…

Right now, he was shifting below the red line, about 1500-2000 rpm below. He was still reaching the maximum horsepower, but he could be going faster. But he was scared.

Nik shifted down as he powered around a left hand turn and then into a right hand hairpin. He then got to a straight. He hit the gas until the car raised up to the red line and shifted.

Nik accelerated hard until his car hit 195 km/h. He broke and heel-toed down to an acceptable speed and drifted through the turn. He drifted safe, but fast. With the way his suspension was set up, he could feel more control in the throttle and steering.

It was the old FC, but with a new body. The soul remained, but the abilities were increased. It could punch harder. I could run faster. It could dominate. Nik hit the throttle and watched as the rear end flailed out to the side as he began the downhill.

Nik pulled along side the Chevelle and powered along next to him, not allowing him to drift. He had to slow down to stop the full body from sliding. Suspension was one thing, but you couldn't get rid of the weight that came from what was a metal body.

Nik passed by him and then by Kim. He motioned for her to follow him. She got behind him in his draft path. He then headed towards the back end of the large Camaro.

Kim followed him and Nik watched as they swerved. He waited until after the next corner. He sway drifted out and into the middle of the two muscle cars, creating a wedge.

With the cars separated, the flow was obstructed. Close to the end of the downhill course, Kim was able to get herself in by Nik. Nik wedged his way between Kenneth at the wide part at the bottom and Kim followed him through.

Nik knew that the team that won would be the one that got all their team members past the downhill. Meaning Kim would have to interrupt everyone else from passing.

Nik waved at Kim to send her ahead towards the FD's. Nik would stay with the high powered cars behind him. He had to keep them back until the downhill and then, drive like a maniac to get ahead of other teams.

_In front…_

Mei lost the lead. Sato was an amazing racer. He looked behind him and saw ER33 and LanEvo. He could also see the shiny orange NSX with the FD's and the S2000.

Mei powered hard, put the car ahead of him was very powerful. He was gonna have to push more power out of his R32 if he wanted to remain competitive. He sighed and kept up with the back end of Sato.

He doubted that Nik could overtake 5 cars and Kim in just the downhill. The best he could hope for was to take the lead. At least then it wouldn't be a total loss. Mei hit the gas pedal and drove towards the next hairpin.

The uphill on this course was very difficult. He could barley keep his eyes open any more. He was exhausted, but he had to keep focused. The sharp right was coming up. Mei took it hard. He stayed tight to the inside.

He slid around a hard left and headed down the mountain to drift down the mountain. This would be there last chance to take the lead. Mei attacked hard and was prepared to show Sato all the power this R32 had.

_A bit back…_

Kim attacked the downhill aggressively. The FD was the same one she'd beaten before on Tochigi. She smiled at her and then attacked on the inside of the black and red FD.

She took the inside and push ahead towards the S2000. Its wide body aloud her to drift through and then block around the turn. The Evo and ER33 were blocking hard, almost in sequence.

Kim fought for an opening she couldn't find. She wasn't sure how to pass these cars. There movements were tight and the ER33 was heavy, causing her to slow down excessively.

Kim slid hard. Nik had given her an opening and she wanted to take advantage of it. She sighed and rubbed her head. She wanted him to…to…know she tried. Yeah, that's what she wanted.

Kim kept slipping the car back and forth. She was practically sway drifting down the entire mountain. She was waiting to see Nik come up behind her, guaranteeing the win.

Unfortunately, what she saw was the 67 Camaro and the Chevelle. Her eyes widened at the site of them before narrowing on the next corner. She slid around it and then caught up with the Evo and ER33.

_A bit farther back... _

Nik drifted around the hairpin turn at 165 km/h. It was getting scary up here. The car was fast, and light. He was practically sliding off the mountain while he was trying to keep it tight.

He accelerated back up to 200 km/h and headed back downward. He had to keep Kenneth behind him in order to guarantee third. Maybe if he could pass one or two cars ahead of him, he could get a hold of second or maybe even first.

Ahead of him sat two FD's. Behind him sat the powerful Camaro. He had to make his move. He moved in on the black FD and drifted tight on its tail end. He was looking for an opening.

Nik used the Kansei technique on the next bend. It was amazing, how the car slid so easily. He counter steered and followed the long left hander. He went to the outside of the corner carefully and left on the outside line. He got on its side.

He then went towards the red FD. He figured on pulling the same move. He went for it and…blocked. He slowed down and went again towards the next corner. He'd try something else.

He faked on the outside and pulled in. She didn't fall for it. He readjusted himself and tried another move. He broke in and gripped the outside, trying to use the 'Highland' technique. It had always worked on the lake in a jam.

He began to drift away from the corner. He was sliding the entire body and losing speed at an alarming rate. When the other car began to drift, he whipped around and went to the inside just before falling back to the outside at the point where the other driver would began to fall back to the outside.

As he was about to hit the gas and pull through on the inside, the car followed the inside and continued drifting. Nik then watched as the car pulled another move that he knew. The "Avon" technique.

She drifted wide and then whipped the back end around, following the outside line. This was a technique designed for use in a triple tandem drift. The third one was the most familiar.

Nik's wide eyes watched her, "Jen…"

His moment caused him to be off timing. That's bad at 214 km/h. He was past his braking point by 10 yards. He slammed onto the brakes and turned the wheel instinctively. He started to slide the whole body again.

He hit the gas in an attempt to balance the car. It caused the rear to sway farther out. He managed to avoid the rail although his car was now sitting at a 90 degree angle w/ the straight road.

He decided the smart thing to do was finish the spin out 180 degrees and avoid crashing with anyone. He used his E-brake to end the slide. And brought himself around while holding in the clutch.

He rolled backwards as Kenneth passed him on the left. Nik hit the brakes and skidded to a stop. He sighed and turned the car around to finish his run. He came in last, but Mei managed to take second and Kim had fifth. The team still took last.

He pulled over by the red FD. He got out and looked over at the driver as she stepped out. Her body was unmistakable and the face closed all his doubts. It was her.

She smiled and brushed her brunette hair out of her face, "Hey, been a while."

Nik nodded as he walked around the hood and nearly tripped, "Yeah, hi."

She smiled, "I saw you spin out, you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, when did you get here?"

"A few months back when Mei called me."

_About twenty feet behind them…_

Mei noticed the stare from Nik and smiled a little. He then shook his head when they started talking again. Nik had no idea of the truth. He then looked behind him as he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder.

He looked back at Kim as she asked, "Who's that?"

"Jen, Nik's ex."

Her eyes widened and then returned to normal, "Oh…"

"Yeah, they were together until Nik left to come here. I'd half expected him to try and find her but we never really left the area."

She responded with a raspy voice, "Ahuh…"

"You alright? You don't sound too good."

"Yeah I'm fine. I'm gonna go home though, I'm tired. Tell Nik I said bye."

"Ok."

Mei watched as she walked over to the NSX and started up the engine. The loud V6 roar got everyone's attention. She then left and Nik ran over towards Mei, "Hey, where's she going?"

"She said she was tired, she's been up since 7 when she met you."

"Oh, alright, hey, I'm gonna talk to Kenneth and Kiosuke, then I invited everyone from Rage back to our house, alright?"

"Cool, I'll head back. Al should be home by now. See you in a bit."

Mei walked over to his GTR and started the engine. He flipped the back end around and took off down the road. The team followed him towards the Tochigi exit and onto the highway.

---------------------------------------------

Nik walked over to Kenneth and Kiosuke. They stood up to greet him and he smiled and said, "Good race. We should run a one on one sometime, with both of you."

Kenneth smiled and nodded, "First we need to find out who the best racer on Akina is. Then you can race the true king of Akina."

Nik smiled, "That works. I'll see you guys around."

Nik walked over to his FC. He was glad he could make friends with these racers. It's better to have friends, even though the winners were Rage. Second were the Starz, then the Knights, then his Nites.

Nik sighed as he pulled onto the highway and got off at the Myogi exit. He drove up to his house and parked on the side of the road. He couldn't get to his spot in the garage.

He locked the FC and walked in through the front door. He smiled as he looked over at everyone, including Al, sitting at the kitchen table. He then looked at the bottle and his eyes widened

"My sake…"

Mei smiled, "Sorry man, it is a party."

Nik smiled and walked over. He picked up a glass as they went over old times. Nik and Jen had a big past. Soon after, came the true introduction of Sato. Something he wasn't expecting.

Jen smiled, "Oh, I forget to tell you, this is Takagi Satochi, my fiancé."

Nik choked on his sake, "You're what?"

Jen smiled, "Yeah, I met him when I was racing in the SCCA club series back home. He's a national competitor."

Mei nodded, "That's why I picked him for the team. Jen had bagged 3rd in the New England regionals and I knew her from back in the old days. Kev, of course, was our old team mate from back home and Sara had just recently come into her Evo and she wanted to do it."

Nik was staring at Jen for a minute before replying to Mei, "So you built this team? Why?"

"Because, while we were on vacation, I started to think that there was no way we'd just stay at number 2, or at least stop racing. We're a competitive team and part of being competitive is having the best racers around."

"So you did this for their whole team?"

"Yeah, and with your permission, they'll become part of our team."

Nik sighed and then looked back at Mei, "Who's their fastest?"

Sato stood up, "I'm the fastest on the downhill."

Nik nodded and stood, "We race. Then I'll decide."

Sato looked at him seriously, "There's a very large power difference between my S-14 and your FC. I'd appreciate if you could drive another car so to even out the odds."

Nik sighed and looked at Al, "This is why I wanted the 86."

Mei looked over, "You think we need to buy you a new car?"

Nik asked, "Why?"

"The FC is a monster, but it's intimidating to a lot of racers. I think that we may need to buy and tune you up a new car."

Nik sighed. He was sick of letting everything get to him, but money was a big issue. He sighed and said, "I'll think about it. Now, get out of my house."

Everyone smiled and said goodbye. Nik then walked into his room and lay down. A new car? He loved his FC. How was he supposed to drive anything else besides it…?

-------------------------------

For those who still are reading, I'd be interested in knowing what everyone thinks about Nik getting a new car. Give me your opinion, should he get a new engine? Down tune the 26B? By a new car? What kind of car? Please review with that info. I'd appreciate it cause I have no idea what to do yet.


	11. Dying Soul

Nik woke up early the next morning, not Al early but definitely not Mei late. He got dressed and walked out onto his porch. The weather was starting to get warmer.

He sat on the porch and looked out over the beautiful green landscape of Myogi Valley. Nik had found a better place to live for less money in Akagi, but he wanted the scenery.

He walked over to his monster FC and started up the engine. He spun the tires lightly as he took off towards work. He sighed as he cruised along the highway, wishing he could feel the curves.

Nik had thought about new cars all night, but what? Should he stick with FR? An 180SX? A Silvia? 4WD? A 22B? A GTS-4 Skyline? MR even? The MR2? An NSX like Kim?

Nik kept letting these ideas slip through his mind until he parked in the rear parking lot of Gurume Tokyo. He walked inside and picked up a white coat of the wall. He put on an apron on top of it.

He then started to work, filling the steam pots with rice's, checking on the meats in the cooler, making sure the soups were cooking, the usual morning set up. Then to finish it off, he went out to the bar to get a drink.

He downed a small glass of Shochu and then walked away back towards the kitchen when a bright orange car caught his eye. It was Kim's NSX and it was empty. Nik walked back towards the kitchen. He walked through the back until he got to the office where Amber was sitting.

He asked, "Is Kim here?"

"No, why? You see the car?"

Nik nodded, "Yeah, why is it here?"

"I don't know, when I opened the mailbox this morning, I found a small package with the keys and two letters. One was for you."

Amber handed Nik the note and he took it. He heard Amber say that hers said to sell the car and then Kim would get a hold of her about the money. Nik then began to read.

_Nik,_

_I'm going back home today. I guess that means I should tell you the truth. I love you Nik, I really do. I want to be with you_

_but apparently you would be happier with Jen. I really wish that you hadn't been so blind. I came to Japan to beat you,_

_but then the more I thought about it, the more I realized I couldn't just beat you and walk away. So I stayed, but you were_

_blind. I wish that I could have made you see things more clearly, but I'm sick of you. I'm getting on a plane at 11:30 this_

_morning and I'm leaving you in Japan._

_Love, _

_Kim_

Nik stared in disbelief. How could he not have noticed? She hadn't said anything, she hadn't made any insinuations? What on earth could have made her just up and leave except…?

Nik looked at Amber, "I gotta go, I'll be back soon."

Nik ran out, not listening to what Amber was saying. He got into his FC and started it while taking out his cell phone. He dialed Mei's number as he peeled out of the parking lot.

Mei answered groggily, "Hello?"

"What did you say to Kim last night?"

"What do you mean?"

"Before she left, what did you say?"

"Just that you and Jen used to be together."

"That's all you said?"

"Yeah, why?"

"She took off this morning for home and I've got like 40 minutes to get to the other side of town and through the airport."

"What are you doing talking with me? Drive!"

Nik dropped the phone on his passenger seat and slid onto the opposing lane. He powered past a slow sedan and then got onto the highway. He floored it through traffic, not noticing he passed by a cop.

The cop took off after him, lights blaring. Nik didn't have time. He knew the right thing to do was stop, but he had to stop her. He hit the gas harder and looked a head at the Wangan turn before his exit.

He drifted hard along the inside and flew to the outside doing 160 km/h. He then put his blinker on and took the exit, pulling a 180 stop at the bottom. He peeled away towards the airport.

He looked in his rear view mirror. The car was still on his ass and had picked up friends. He floored the gas and drifted to a stop with his driver's side at the door. He got out and ran inside.

He was halfway down the first isle when a set off guards came in front of him. He looked to the side at the schedule. The next flight to Chicago was leaving in ten minutes.

He ran towards the guards at full speed, running right into them. He knocked down the guy on the left, but the one on the right got hold of his shirt. He pulled and ripped the shirt as he kept running towards gate 72.

78…77…76…75… he was almost there. He saw guards behind him. He got to 72 and ran through the isles, looking for any sign of her. She wasn't there. Where'd she go?

"_Attention, flight 325 is now boarding at gate 62 to LA."_

That was the only other option. Nik ran through only to run into two more guards. He jumped over a row of seats and kept jogging towards gate 62. He was getting closer.

Nik then felt something hit his chest. He looked over in the direction and he saw a guard with a shock gun. His eyes widened as the trigger was pushed. The voltage roared through his body causing him to pass out…

--------------------------

_Ring……Ring……_

Mei picked up his cell phone as he rounded the corner leaving the gas station. He looked at the number, noticing it was Nik. Hopefully good news. He clicked the answer button and put the phone to his ear.

"How'd it go?"

"Is this Motouji Meikeru?"

"Hai. Who's this?"

"This is Kirasawa-San at the Tokyo Police Department. Are you of relation to a Hogashinu Nikorasu?"

Mei sighed, "_Oh crap…_ Yes, he's my cousin."

"Ok, one moment please." Mei waited and waited as the phone was passed from one person to another whose breathing could be heard heavily. He heard the man sigh, "Hey man."

"What did you do?"

"I took down a guard and evaded four or five until I get hit by a taser gun."

"Did you stop her?"

"No, she took the flight to LA and I went to the gate to Chicago. I was almost their when I got hit."

"So what's going on?"

"They said they needed to keep me for questioning and that they're only gonna give me a warning, but the FC got towed to the impound lot. Could you come get me?"

"Yeah man, I'll be there as soon as I…"

He heard the phone taken from him. Mei then listened as another man said, "I'll give him a ride to the impound lot for you."

"Who is this?"

"I'm a cop and a racer, don't worry about it, He'll be alright."

Mei nodded, "Alright, thank you officer."

"No prob, call me Sagara."

--------------------------

Nik got up and rubbed his wrists. Handcuffs hurt more then they used to. He then looked up at a very nice looking car. He walked over to the passenger side and said, "Nice GTR."

He nodded, "It's a Tommykaira"

"Really? How much horsepower."

"I've got it at 550 hp."

Nik stared straight ahead, blankly. His mind was blank and he liked it that way right now. Impulse had taken him over. He sighed as Sagara put it in gear and the driver took off from the place where he was. Nik looked over at him, "You're Sagara Sakurazaki, right?"

"Hai, Hogashinu-San."

"Do you still race?"

"Occasionally."

"I would like to race you."

"I'm sorry, but I don't have a car for touge with horsepower too match a 13B. I don't think…"

"I have a 26B engine with 700 horses and I'll race you on Wangan."

"You sound angry."

"Sad."

"Why?"

"My…A good person from my past left me."

"I see, we'll, once you've calmed down, you can get a hold of me. My number's…"

"Are you scared?"

"What would make you think that?"

"You're not accepting my challenge. You have a Lancia, don't you? Race me in that. I'll beat your most powerful car."

"My most powerful is the Satan 037."

"I see. I'll race it."

"When?"

"Tonight."

"Why would you want to? If I was you, I'd…"

"You're not. Race me or don't."

Sagara watched him with a slight misunderstanding, "I'll race you. Meet me at the Police station garage tonight at nine."

"Agreed."

They stopped at the impound lot and Nik stepped out of the car with Sagara. Sagara walked up with him and he got his car back without a fine. He thanked Sagara as the FC was brought forward to him.

He got into the car and started the engine. He revved it loudly. He sat for twenty minutes revving it up to the red line and then letting it drop back down. He couldn't stop. The sound was like crack.

He hit the gas and let the rear tires spin as he took off down the road. The aura of the FC had changed along with the driver's aura. Nik didn't notice. He had a job to do…

-------------------------------

Mei sighed as he sat at home on the couch, tapping his bare foot against the coffee table. Nik hadn't checked in. He thought that he would have at least called to say he was at work or on his way home.

Mei looked over at the door as it opened, but it was only Sara. He had asked her to come up. She walked over to him and sat down on his lip, gently kissing his lips. He smiled at her, "Thanks, I needed that."

She smiled and touched his face, "So what's wrong?"

"Nothing really, I'm just out of it and I wanted to see you."

She sighed, "What'd Nik do now?"

He looked up confused but then smiled, "He got himself arrested chasing after that Kim chick."

"Wow! Obsessed much?"

"Well, it's kind of my fault. I didn't explain the whole Jen and Sato story."

"I guess, but she's the one who flipped."

"I guess. Well, anyway, now Nik is nowhere to be found and the girl's gone, not that I miss her much."

"I see, well maybe you should stop thinking about it."

"How?"

Sara placed her lips onto his and pushed him back in his chair. She then moved her legs around and straddled herself on top of him. Mei shut his eyes and returned her kisses as his hands slid down her back.

He grasped her back side and lifted her up. Her legs wrapped around him and Mei took her into his bedroom. He set her down on his bed and walked back to shut the door…

_A half-hour later…_

Al walked into the house yawning and placed his keys in a small dish on the kitchen table. He was tired. The race last night combined with the little party had wiped him out. He was really glad he didn't have to work.

He walked towards his room and as he was passing by Mei's, he heard noises. Groans and screams. Someone was telling someone to stop and that something that was happening hurt.

Al got worried immediately and walked into Nik's room where he picked up a Shinai sword. He walked over to the edge of Mei's door before kicking it open. He walked in only to open his eyes up widely.

He stared for a minute before nearly falling over as he scurried out of the room. Mei then walked out of the room wearing a pair of sweatpants a moment later. He put his hand on Al's shoulder.

He asked, "Are you alright?"

"You were naked…"

"Yeah, I was…"

"She was naked…"

"Yeah, she was…"

"Is it even humanly possible to bend like that…?"

"Apparently so…"

Sara walked out of the room as she was just finishing pulling her shirt on. She looked over at Mei who walked over to her and gently kissed her. She looked at Al as she was leaving.

She said softly, "Sorry Al…"

He replied, "Its ok…"

Mei sighed and rubbed his forehead, "Dude, I really wasn't expecting you home this early…"

Al stood their quietly…

"I'm sorry you had to see that…"

Not a sound…

"Are you alright…"

Still quiet…

"Say something…"

"She's got really, really, really…"

"Don't say it."

"Long legs…"

--------------------------

_9:02, Police Station Garage, Tokyo_

Nik pulled up in his FC and killed the engines and the lights. He stepped out and looked over at the members of Sagara's Battalions. Nik looked over at Sagara and didn't see the 037.

He asked, "Where's your Lancia?"

"I didn't bring it. I wanted to keep things fair, so Aikawa is allowing me to race you in her 240Z."

"Fine, your funeral."

As the members of the Battalions conversed, Nik got into his car and pulled up to the edge of the garage driveway. A second later, Sagara pulled up along side him in Aikawa's 240Z.

Sagara rolled down his window and Nik did the same. Sagara then said, "We're gonna start at Marunouchi and go down to the loop at the heliport in Shinkiba, then the first one back to Marunouchi wins. My record is 4 and half minutes."

Nik nodded, "Let's go."

Sagara led off down the road in the 240Z. Nik held tight to the back of his car. As they left the Ginza, they turned onto the highway. Sagara then hit the gas and Nik heard the wheels spin. Nik did the same as he downshifted to get the RPM's up.

He took off behind Sagara as they both began to get there speed up. Both cars gripped the first corner, swerving between the lanes and then taking off farther down the road.

The next sets of corners were consecutive. Both cars had to be doing atleast 260 km/h by now. They both drifted the corner. The slightest turn of the wheel on either car would send the back ends out.

Sagara broke and used a braking drift to keep good control of the car. Nik went in full force, turning the wheel and sending the car into a high speed slide. The front tires turned and matched up with the road as Nik's car was sliding completely sideways.

Sagara was still ahead and Nik pulled out of the first curve just barley, using the gas to get himself straightened out. Then they had to immediately changed and head into the next turn. Sagara was able to accelerate into the turn as he had slowed down enough in the last curve to be able to control the car in this one.

Nik's maneuvers were more erratic. He couldn't keep it together. He was driving without any line or even overall technique. The fact that he was an amateur was shown while racing the skilled Sagara Sakurazaki.

Sagara and Nik were evenly matched on the straights. The car's headlights shown greatly as he attacked the straights as fast as he could. The car was heard shifting. The engine roared as they approached the next turn.

Nik broke solidly and turned into the corner before applying gas. The back end let go and Nik went towards the inside of the corner. He tapped on an apex point and then pulled out of the drift simply. Sagara had held higher speeds and gained more of a lead.

Nik hit the gas hard as the RPM needle rolled into the redline and the shift light on his new gauge lit up. As he upshifted, he swerved around an SUV. He then got himself centered on the back end of the 240Z.

He attacked the next curve with more speed and less angle. He came in strong on the inside, letting the rear end slide only slightly by controlling the movements with steering. He closed some space.

Sagara was very talented in a car that wasn't even his own. Sagara is a Lancia driver, which are both MR. His only other car is the Tommykaira GTR, and that's AWD. This was an FR.

Nik could only imagine that Sagara had spent a lot of time around cars for his entire life. This would have let him understand the mechanics of how an FR would handle, he may have even previously owned one.

Nik decided that this race had been over from the beginning. He had shot out of his league and failed. But he wasn't giving up. Nik hit the gas and took off down the road. He hit a lighter corner at top speed. Sagara in the 240Z had between two and six car lengths depending on which lane he was in. Nik was finding it more and more difficult to catch up as Sagara drove faster and faster every second.

They both began to round what rally drivers would call a '4 right, long', 4 being the level of difficulty, right being the direction of the corner, and then you can figure out what the long means.

After that corner ended, there was a sharp left hander. Nik tried to mimic Sagara's movements. He managed to do so, but about 30 km/h slower. He pulled out of the turn and tried to catch up again.

The next curve was on off ramp that led towards Shinkiba. Nik had a bit of a hard time controlling the car through the curve. He had lost quite a bit of tire grip so far. He needed new treads.

They first curve on the Shinkiba loop was a wide right hander. Sagara followed a grip line and Nik used a low angle drift. Nik closed distance as his tighter line allowed him to slide through the mostly empty slow lane while Sagara dealt with traffic.

They were now 2 car lengths apart as the next turn approached. Both Nik and Sagara drifted around a tight interior line, avoiding most traffic. The distance stayed the same. The next corner hadn't been far away and the same maneuver had been used to negotiate it.

They slid up an onramp to get back on the road towards Marunouchi. Nik and Sagara were fighting now. It was all up to who could maintain the higher speed. Nik hit the gas and shifted into fifth gear.

The car's slid around a sharp left hand corner and then headed back towards the long curve. Sagara had the same lead as before, although Nik was keeping up. The traffic was becoming thicker on this side of the road.

Nik and Sagara swerved and swooped until they came to an obstacle. An 18 wheeler. Nik and Sagara carefully slowed down in attempt to move around it. They were soon blocked.

Sagara was quickly cut off by a black car that was unfamiliar to Nik. Nik was passed by a Toyota Supra RZ pulled along his left. Sagara had hit the gas hard as the two cars passed. Nik thought it must be a plan to beat him. The Supra RZ by Nik swerved in front of him, as did the black car in front of Sagara.

Nik sighed as he desperately tried to pass as the RZ slammed its brakes and it skidded towards Nik's FC. It was trying to hit him. Nik moved quickly to avoid him, but then took off again. Then the RZ pulled ahead.

Nik looked over at Sagara just as the black car pulled ahead of him. The RZ began to drive really close towards the 18 wheeler's cab. The black car was out of Nik's sight.

Soon, the truck was swerving back and forth. It was very unstable. Nik slowed down but it was too late. The rear end of the trailer had already started to slide. Nik was too close to pull away.

He hit the gas hard as the trailer popped up off the ground, pulling the cab with it. He quickly slid underneath it, scraping his roof. Sagara had done the same thing, except with less hesitation and no damage to the car body.

Nik looked in his rearview as the trailer scraped against the ground and came to an abrupt halt. Nik yanked his E-brake, as did Sagara, as the RZ and the unknown car pulled ahead.

Nik stepped out of his car and looked at the carnage that had become part of the once crowded highway. Sagara looked over at him and said, "Nik, you should leave before the police get here. Go, I'll cover for you."

Nik got into his FC without another word. He got off the exit and took the back roads until he got onto route 186 which would take them to the connection to get home. He sighed as he drove home in third gear.

He got off at the Akina exit a while later. He couldn't go home yet. His head was dead. He headed all the way to the top of the mountain where he immediately turned around and started on the downhill.

He hit 160 km/h before he drifted into the first curve, likewise at the second, slowly gaining higher straight speeds. He sighed and downshifted into a lower gear. His RPM's would rise and fall quite quickly during his shift changes.

He saw a set of head lights shining in his back mirror as he was heading down the mountain. They were pop-ups. He sighed and hit the gas a little harder. He began to downshift and use power over drifting to attack the corners.

The car behind him was still catching up. It was getting closer and closer. He soon was tandem drifting with it. It was so close. He could see what it was now. His eyes widened.

"An FB!"


	12. Saying Goodbye

Indeed, the car next to him was a Mazda RX7 FB3S. He could here the turbo blow-off valve as well as the distinct sound of the 13B Bi-Rotor engine. Still, the little car was fast.

The FB next to his FC had caught up to him in the last curve, but then the power of the FC sent Nik ahead as they went down the straight. The next curve brought the FB almost in front of him.

Nik hit the gas hard. The FC's tail flailed as the RPM's sent the rear tires spinning. Nik regained traction as he continued to attack the curbs. The FB had caught up more. Nik couldn't get him off his ass.

Soon, the five consecutive hairpins came up. Nik hit the gas and drifted on the inside while the FB did something he wasn't expecting. He dropped his tires into the outside ditch and gripped the curve. He kept on the inside, using the same ditch drop and pulled ahead of Nik. Nik had lost sight of him by the last hairpin turn. He sighed and finished off his run.

He looked over at a set of flashing lights as he exited Mt. Akina and noticed that they were pop-ups. He pulled over next to the FB and shut off his car. He stepped out and looked over at an old man as he stepped out of the FB.

Nik looked over at the man, who appeared to be in his mid forties. He walked over to Nik's FC and seemed to be ignoring him. Nik watched the man ran his hands along the hood of his car.

Nik raised his eyebrow and asked, "Who are you?"

The man looked up at him, "Is that a way to speak to an elder?"

Nik nodded apologetically, "I'm sorry, I was just wondering. What are you doing?"

"Touching the hood of your car, are you blind or something?"

"No. Why are you touching the hood of my car?"

"It's been a while since I've felt the hood of a 26B."

"You've been around the 26B engine?"

"I've built one from scratch, well, almost."

"You did?"

"Yes, but I kept mine better tuned then this. The overpowering 700 hp is too much for touge. My 26B has been tuned to 550 hp. It's better for the car body, avoids twisting and all."

"I see, but this FB has only about 250 hp. The turbo and the 13B are combined to only but out that much."

"You could here that over the sound of your 26B?"

Nik pointed to his ear, "Good ears."

The old man nodded, "I see... Yes, my 26B is in one of my other cars in Okinawa."

"You're from Okinawa?"

"Not originally, but yes, now."

"What kind of cars do you have?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

Nik gritted his teeth, "Yes, I would."

"Well I'll tell you what. You give me a car; I'll give you a car."

Nik nodded, "That's fair. Ok, Mazda RX7 FC."

"Mazda RX7 FB."

Nik sighed, as this old man was pushing his already pushed buttons, "Nissan 180SX-Type X, the American version with the KA24DET."

"I'm sorry, Nissan Fairlady S30."

"Why are you sorry? Honda Accord CA1."

"I'm very sorry, Mazda RX2."

'_An RX2? Wow, he really had some good cars'_ Nik had run out of cars. From somewhere, he blurted out, "Chevrolet Monte Carlo."

"A Monte Carlo? Does it have a 305?"

"Yeah... You know what a 305 is?"

"I'm Japanese, not stupid."

"Ok, fine, your turn."

"Subaru XT."

"And I'm the one with crappy cars?"

"Yes, because mine is running on a 20BT dual-rotor out of a Eunos Cosmo. I just liked the AWD system."

"I see. If you wanted AWD, you should have gone with a GTR. I've got an R32."

"I test drove the FR GTR a long time ago. I didn't like it. I do however have a something to match your CA1. An AE92 with a 4AGE."

"That's a very good list of vehicles."

"So was yours, until you started lying."

"How did…What made you think I was lying?"

"How quickly that Monte Carlo came out of your mouth."

"I see…"

"So what's your name?"

"Hogashinu Nikorasu and you?"

"People call me the Blue Samurai."

"What's your real name?"

"That is my real name, but my parents named me Hayashi Haruki. Most people call me Yashi."

"Most people call me Nik, but I've had names similar to the Blue Samurai. My most famous was the Highland 240."

"It does not fit your Aura Nik-san."

Nik sighed, "Then what should my name be?"

He pointed to Nik's rear quarter panel. Nik said it aloud, "The Blak Nite…"

Yashi nodded, "It suits you."

Nik looked up at him, "What do you want?"

He sighed, "To help you."

"With what?"

"You're driving."

"What's wrong with my driving?"

He walked over to him and pointed at his head, "You drive with that." He then pointed at the center of his body, "You should drive with that."

"My soul?"

"Hai."

"But wait, how do you know about me?"

"I've seen you race a few times. You're very good with your knowledge, but your overall skill must be increased to keep up with someone like Takahashi Ryosuke or Bunta's son, Takumi."

"Ryosuke? Takumi? I need a lot more practice before I'm even close to that level, if I even can be."

"I can teach you to unlock your potential."

"What potential…"

"Do you remember when you had you CA1?"

"Yes."

"Why did you drift your CA1?"

"Because it was fun, until I crashed."

"But crashing didn't stop you, did it?"

"No, I went out and bought the 240."

"Exactly. You kept pushing on. I know what happened during your racing career in America, but you kept persevering."

"Yeah, I guess…"

"So it's time now to unlock the potential deep inside you."

"How?"

"I shall tell you…"

----------------------

Mei yawned as he looked at his watch again. Where the fuck was he? Why was he always stuck here waiting for him? He worried too much. He sighed and got up to walk over to the fridge.

He pulled out a bottle of Sake and turned around. He dropped the bottle when he saw Nik sitting on the couch. He just barley caught it. He raised his eyebrow, "How'd you do that?"

"I've gotta go for a while."

"But you just got here."

"No, I mean a couple of days."

"Why?"

"I…I…I…"

"Don't want to tell me?"

"Yeah…"

"Look, are you on drugs?"

"No."

"Are you going chasing after Kim?"

"No…"

"Is there a female involved?"

"No…"

"Is there a car involved?"

"Probably…"

"Where are you going?"

"Okinawa."

"Why?"

"See above."

"Oh, I see."

"Yeah…"

"So why are you even bothering to tell me?"

"Because I need you to start something while I'm gone."

"What?"

"I need you to start racing. Really racing, seriously. Wangan, Akagi, Akina, everywhere."

"But I thought we were the laid back racers?"

"No, we're the Blak Nites. We want to have that name, we have to earn it. That's why I have to go."

"Yeah, I see…do you want me to admit Rage to the team?"

"Yeah, I do. I've got to go wake up Al, I have some things to talk to him about."

"Hey, Nik, Al and I still have stock cars."

"I know, we have to start tuning. Each of you take 2 grand and make it work for you. Take more if you need it."

"What about you?"

"I'm gonna get a new car for the Touge."

"What?"

"You'll see."

Nik stood up as his cousin did and pulled him into a hug. Mei raised an eyebrow and accepted it. Nik then walked away and into Alex's room. He smiled as he saw the kid passed out on his bed.

Nik rocked his shoulder, "Hey, get up."

Al stirred slowly to wake, "Hey bitch…"

"Hey, how you doing?"

"I'm pretty good."

"How's Miki?"

"She's good."

"Good… hey, I gotta go out for a while. Take care of things, alright?"

"Yeah, sure. Can I go back to sleep?"

"Yeah man."

Nik stood up and walked towards the door where he stopped, "Hey bro?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"Love ya too."

Nik smiled and walked into his room. He packed a bag with a couple of pairs of clothes before walking out into the living room. He looked at Mei. He sighed, "You gonna be alright."

"Yeah, I'll talk to you when you get back."

Nik nodded and walked outside. Mei sat in the living room and leaned back on the couch. He sighed, "Nik, I swear to god if you do anything that I would do, I'll kill you…"

_The Next Day…_

Mei and Al sat at the restaurant in Usui quietly. They had nothing they could say because they'd already explained everything to the members of Rage who were sitting with them. Also, Pete and Ross were there.

Sato decided to speak, "So what are we gonna do?"

Mei sighed, "I think we should divide and conquer. The racers who are ready will race in the areas where we can start. Everyone else will start working on their cars. We'll find a mid-point where we're together."

Ross sighed, "I'll race with you guys if you're interested. Pete and I will race as Nites."

Mei nodded, "Thanks, I appreciate it."

Sara sighed, "We'll, Rage is tuned. Pete and Ross are tuned. I think now it's just up to you and Al."

Al spoke up, "I want all of us to have a minimum of 300 hp. That kicks Sato and Sara out of the equation."

Jen agreed, "That leaves Me, Kev, and Pete and Ross."

Al nodded, "So let's get to work."

Mei nodded, "First things first, Impact Blue. We'll race them for some more credibility. Nik beat just Maka, so one of you will race both her and… Simone."

Jen nodded, "She's mine."

He nodded in agreement, "Kev, your gonna stick around and help with tuning at the garage. Pete, Ross, you too should hit Saitama. There's a guy named Wataru who lives there. He races a turbo 86. Good luck."

Ross nodded, "Sounds like a plan."

They all stood up and said there goodbyes. The 'under 300' group headed off towards Kevin's garage. They went into the garage and parked in some pre-determined spots.

Kevin came out with some tuning magazines along with some parts magazines. He tossed them around and everyone picked something up. They looked around and Al was the first one to walk up to Kevin with a parts list.

"Holy shit kid, this was fast."

"I know what I want."

Kevin took the piece of paper, "Headers… a couple hundred in suspension parts for better steering…new muffler…this all seems like it'll work. I'll go call up the company, parts should be here tomorrow."

Al nodded, "What can I do now?"

"Do you know how to take apart a manifold?"

"Yeah."

"Get to work."

Al quickly went underneath the hood of his Mark II. Soon, everyone was doing something to or for their cars. That was their day until the night came and they went home, some in borrowed cars for Kevin. We'll, the 'under 300' group went home…

_Usui Shopping Center, 9:30_

Jen looked into the eyes of Sayuki, who apparently was the brain of the two, "So we're agreed to a cat and mouse race at ten?"

She nodded, "Yeah, we can head up now so we can get set up."

Jen nodded and got up with the two other girls. She followed behind them and thought, "_Mike went out with this bitch? I knew he was into the sluttish kind of girls in high school but god damn…_"

Both cars headed up to the mountain, the blue Sil-eighty leading. She listened carefully to the SR20DET rumble. It sounded a lot different then Nik's KA24DET. She pulled up to the starting line and lined up. She agreed to start in front.

She sped up until they hit the first curve where the real racing began. Jen hit the throttle and started down the mountain. The Sil-eighty was bearing down on her. She took the first corner quickly.

Since she had the lead, she could set the pace. She entered the tight curve before checking her rear-view mirror. The other car had maintained a higher speed with less loss of grip.

She readjusted herself on the road right before she took the next corner. She sighed because her drift hadn't let her pull away and got the other driver closer. She shifted up and then the next corner came. She tried to grip, but her high speed sent her into a Kansei drift.

She countersteered and got back on the throttle as the Sil-eighty pulled along side her. She pulled away around the next curve. These roads were tight. A lot tighter then Tochigi and then a real lot tighter then Avon Mountain…

She tried to adjust her technique before the next curve. She drifted with a low angle and the Sil-eighty seemed to follow suit. She couldn't let herself be passed. Not on this run.

She went wider on the next turn and let her back end almost clip the guardrail. He then pulled to the inside and went wide again on the next curve, attempting to use the full length of the road.

Apparently it was working. The Sil-eighty had begun to repeatedly slow down quickly after corners and had started to lose ground on the FD. Jen smiled as the exhaust popped and her car's direction reversed for the next curve.

_Meanwhile, in Saitama…_

Ross hit the gas as his car slid sideways lightly behind Wataru's AE86. For a racer only using 250 hp, he really put it to good work with his car. This was their second lap on Chichibu pass.

Ross had lead the first lap and now Wataru was leading the second as Ross studied the technique of this excellent drifter. He seemed to have full control of his car at all times and he was hard to attack head on.

Ross had found that Tochigi was an interesting road. Although just as wide as most roads, the sides were mostly washed out. This was Ross's first time racing in the Saitama prefecture. He wondered if all the Touge in the area was like this…

"Hey, watch out for the sand on the inside!"

Ross reacted quickly to his brother's warning, drifting along the outside of the corner. Wataru's line was tighter and better planned out. He'd mastered this course. Ross swore.

Pete sighed as they drove along a short straight, "How are we supposed to overtake him? Or even pull away when we're ahead?"

Ross sighed as he went through the motions for a heel/toe downshift, "I'm not sure, I figure pulling away when ahead is the best idea. I couldn't pass on this road if I wanted to."

They came to the end of this side of the pass and both cars slowed to 30 mph. Wataru swung his back end around with the E-brake. Ross used his power to swing it around before taking off down the road in front.

Ross tapped the gas as he entered the first curve and looked behind him. As long as Wataru had home course advantage, Ross was at a loss. Ross was going to have to find a way to own this course for at least tonight.

He went on the inside behind Wataru and followed his line to the outside, avoiding a small sand dune. He entered the next turn on the outside, avoiding the broken up road on the inside.

He noticed something about the corners. After the first section and near the end, the road was pretty mellow, with the exception of how much it was worn. Ross could notice that those areas were where Wataru use a high speed drift. Wataru couldn't be taken on that part of the course.

Ross would have to rock his world on the harder parts of the course. He thought carefully. There as the huge sand formation near the end. Then there was that brush over by one of the last corners. Also there were all the places where the road got washed out.

Ross approached the sand formation. He cut to the inside and slammed on the gas. He felt his left tire go up into the sand and he could see a certain level of worry emanating from Pete. He got beside Wataru.

The corner ended in a hairpin set. He would be on the outside of the first one, but if he could match Wataru's speed, he could have the advantage in the second one. He gripped the first corner close to Wataru, refusing to let him drift it.

Wataru used the same technique in the second corner and Ross took advantage of it, following a small in line, with a wide out line, passing him. Wataru's shock sent him back a car length and a half. Ross had won.

Pete said, "I thought you couldn't cross on this road if you wanted to?"

Ross smiled, "Proved myself wrong…"

_Meanwhile in Usui…_

Second run. Maya and Simone were setting the pace now and it was hard to keep up. Their car had about 300 horsepower. They we're able to have a fast out-in-out line. They're drifting line was even better.

She followed them move for move after every single curve. She cut inside and tried to dig in by the gutter with no avail. She was too tight. The dang car was too long. She attacked the next curve quickly.

She went into a higher speed drift as the corners began to get wider near C-111. She could begin to find her own line. She tried to grip more corners then she drifted. She ended up gaining ground on the Sil-eighty.

As they past C-120, both cars prepared for the dreaded C-121. It came after a decently long straight. Jen had come out of the last curve with more speed then the Sil-eighty. She actually passed by her at a high pace while the Sil-eighty maintained a steadier pace.

Jen began her drift using the Kansei technique. She got back onto the throttle after she was sideways and then cut in towards the apex. She got a few inches away from the gutter and finished off her drift in front.

The Sil-eighty duo hadn't given up yet. Jen still had to finish ahead or pull away. The Sil-eighty began to bare down on her. She continued to grip the curves as they became tighter. Jen had mastered grip driving through the teachings of her brother.

They were getting closer to the finish line. Jen began to sway her back end around the curves, in an attempt to slow the Sil as she had before. Once again, a success. She ended up finishing with a smile on her face…


	13. Akina Nites

_The next morning, Akina district restaurant…_

"And then I finished almost 2 seconds ahead of her."

Mei smiled, "Good job Jen, you too Ross. We're working our way onto the map now. "

Al nodded, "New parts are here today as well. One more day for installation and then we're on the road. I guess we should plan out who we're going against next."

Sato pulled out a piece of paper, "I couldn't get to sleep last night, so I wrote this out. It's all the teams I know of from here to Tokyo."

He handed the list to Mei, who was unofficially appointed leader until Nik got back. He read it carefully. He sighed, "I see you've crossed off everyone we've already raced."

Sato nodded, "I'd say our next best bet was to attack Akina. It's been settled. We race the Dark Starz."

"Really?"

"Yeah, Kenneth is in South Carolina with Project D. Without them babysitting for about the next week, we have to go at it hardcore."

Mei nodded, "Agreed. I want to send Sato and Sara. Sara, you need more uphill experience, especially after the parts we're adding on today. Sato, you will keep engine power more close so that the race will be fairer."

They both nodded. Mei went back to the list and skimmed it. He then came to something quite interesting. He looked up at Sato, "The Wagon's of Wangan?"

He sighed, "I know, I know. Surprisingly, their pretty good."

Al asked, "Who are they?"

Sato looked over, "They race wagons on Wangan, apparently. They have varying models, but all put out good power. I figure one of us should be putting out like a hooker on a good night anyway."

"Who then?"

Kev smiled, "I'll do it."

Jen looked at him, "Why you?"

He sat back, "I've got my hand on something from a friend…"

"What?"

He continued to smile until he found Jen's hands around his neck, "Tell me!"

Mei pulled them apart, "Calm down ya'll."

Kev rubbed his neck, "Fine, I'll tell you. It's a Maserati 3200GT."

"Where'd you get one of those?"

"Rich guy crashed it and dumped it. Bodies banged up but the engine is salvageable."

"What size engine?"

"3.2 V8 dual turbo with 380 to the rear wheels. I could probably bore it out another .2 or .3 liters and work the turbos, get near 450. That, plus rebuilding the engine with performance parts could push me to atleast 500."

Mei nodded, "Rock on, you got the parts?"

He smiled, "Came in last week."

He nodded, "Get to it. The rest of us will get to our stuff today and get done what we can."

They all stood up and began to leave, when Jen stopped Al. He listened to her ask him to stay. He agreed and they sat back down as Jen breathed in deeply before beginning to speak.

She looked at him, "Do you have any idea where or why Nik went to Okinawa?"

He sighed, "Everything Mei knows, I know. That's it."

"But…why?"

"Something about a car, I don't even know. He was so secretive. I guess he didn't want us asking questions."

"Al…I'm worried about him…"

"How do you think I feel? Giddy and happy that my brother disappeared of the face of the world?"

"Al, calm down…"

"No, I've been calm too fucking long. Leave me the fuck alone!"

The whole restaurant stared at him. He got up and stormed out. Jen followed him only to here the tires of the borrowed Toyota Soarer GT he'd taken from Kevin. She got into her FD and followed him. She couldn't find him…

-------------------------------------------------

He sat at the top of the mountain for at least three hours. It figures that they wouldn't look for him here. The closest mountain. They probably went looking back in Myogi. Akina was such a better bet.

He sat there, staring over the cliff. He sighed and stared downwards as he heard an engine rev up from behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw another car park next to him. He saw a girl in the passenger seat with tears practically falling from her eyes. She got out and sat down on her hood, her knees at her chest as the knees of her pants slowly became damp.

He sighed, the famous Hogashinu-ness overcoming him, and he walked over towards her. He passed by two cars before getting to the tail end of hers. He walked up and placed a hand on her shoulder…

"HI-YAH!"

He fell right onto his ass as her palm made contact with his chest. She then fell down onto her knees in front of him. She seemed flustered as her puffy red eyes became full of concern.

She spoke sweetly, "Oh my god, are you alright?"

He nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine. I was actually on my way to ask you the same question."

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Guys are just jerks."

He nodded, "I know, I kind of am one."

She giggled, "I see. Well, I'm sorry for hitting you. My name's Hitomi."

He put out his hand, "Al."

"You're American?"

"Hai, I converted."

She giggled again, "You're so funny, American humor."

He nodded and shrugged, "So what happened to make you floor it up the mountain and start crying?"

"My friend, Juju, he's just a jerk. He's a fat ass anyways; I don't know why I care."

"Because he's you're friend."

She opened her mouth in retaliation, but then shut it when there was nothing coming out. She sighed, "I suppose…"

He nodded, "Maybe you should go talk to him."

"Give me one good reason."

"Because if you don't, I'll never forgive you for hitting me."

Her face turned red as she stared at him, "Damn you!"

He smiled and waved goodbye to her. She got up and got into her car. She took off down the mountain as he viewed the AW11 driving away from him. He smiled and walked back over to his borrowed Soarer. He felt a little better now.

------------------------------------------

Mei tapped his foot on the garage floor as Jen explained the situation to him. She received one of the coldest stares she'd ever seen. His lips parted to speak many times before he finally spoke.

"Why do the Hogashinus always run away?"

He heard Kevin laugh under the hood of the Maserati as Sato banged out the dent in the front left quarter panel that he had removed. Mei's foot continued tapping as Sara's hand gently rest on his shoulder.

Sara sighed, "Al's a big boy baby, he can take care of himself…"

"No he can't. He's like Nik. Nik is a big, whining, baby."

Jen nodded, "It's the truth…"

Mei sent her an evil glare, "You're not aloud to speak until Al gets back."

"So she can talk now."

They all looked up as Al walked over to where the parts were stacked up. He brought over a few marked boxes to the Mark II and opened them up. As he sized up the header, Kevin asked.

"Dude, where's my car?" (good movie)

"I parked it out front so that I could slip in all unnoticed like.

Mei sighed, "Where the fuck were you?"

"Akina, met a nice girl."

Another long sigh escaped his lips, "You're racing tonight."

"I am? Why?"

"Because you went off unannounced and you we're reckless."

"And racing is a punishment? Who am I running against?"

"Dark Starz and it is a punishment because you have to finish your car."

"You have fucked up form of punishment."

"I know, so fuck off or I'll actually punish you."

He smiled, "Whatever you say."

He nodded and looked at Jen, "Help him."

"What? Why?"

"Because you can, go."

"Jeez, you're an ass some times."

"I know."

She walked over and helped Al line up the head gasket. She attached it as he hooked up the cold air intake. The whole process took over two and a half hours. Luckily all the parts we're pretty easy to install. The transmission pieces would have to wait, as well as the most of the bottom end stuff. Either way, the Mark II was now pushing out 320 hp.

It was decided that Sara would run the uphill, due to her experience needs and car match-ups. Little had been done to her car except for the installment of a turbo timer and blow-off valve. With a catalytic converter and a new racing chip finishing it off, the Evo was now pushing toward 320 as well, with a lighter body.

Jen and Mei accompanied them to the top of Mt. Akina in Jen's car where the Dark Starz were not. They had actually been running the mountain. Almost got hit on the way up. They parked and waited.

Soon, the cars came up the mountain, led by Kiosuke's Nissan 240Z. They were followed by an FC3S Cabriolet, MR2 AW11, and a Skyline Type M. They parked across from them and Kiosuke got out of his car, immediately centering in on Mei.

He walked over and said, "Welcome. I'm Kiosuke Tsunada, leader of the Akina Dark Starz."

Mei nodded, "Meikeru Motouji, but Mei's fine. I'm representing the Blak Nites. I'd like to challenge you guys to a touge race here on Akina."

Kiosuke nodded, "An uphill and a downhill?"

"Yes, the LanEvo will run the uphill and then the Mark II will…"

"Hey, it's you!"

All attention went towards the driver of the AW11. Al smiled as he looked over at her and waved. As glances were exchanged, Kiosuke and Mei regained eye contact and finished speaking.

"… Run the downhill."

The AW11 driver tugged on Kiosuke's shirt, "Kio, can I race him? Please please?"

Kiosuke sighed, "Hitomi, it's an important race and…"

She quickly put on the world renowned puppy dog face and asked again, "Please…?"

He looked over at the FD that Jen had driven, "Would it be alright if either I or Ryoko race you instead of him, so that Hitomi and the Mark II can race?

Jen nodded, "Yeah, that's fine."

Kio nodded, "You two are up first then."

Hitomi smiled and nodded before looking over at the Skyline driver, "Juju, come on."

The larger man ran over and got into the passenger side of the two-seater MR2 as they pulled up to the line. As Al started his engine, he felt something weigh down the right side of his car. He looked over to see Mei sitting their.

"Dude, what the fuck?"

"Weight balance, so that the race is more even."

"First off, her car is still lighter then mine even with both of them in it. Second off, why do I want your fat ass in my car?"

"Because I need to see something, so let's get going."

Al nodded, unsure of what he was talking about. He pulled up to the line and Sara counted down. Al held off and allowed the AW11 to take the lead. He then took off behind it. Al's first race in quite a while.

The first light corner was taken at full throttle. Al looked over at Mei. A glare at the road. Not as much an expectant glare as it was just a waiting glare. He was waiting to see how Al did.

Al came to the first hard corner. A pretty sharp left hander. He brought the car out of gear and revved the engine while braking. As the car was placed back in gear, the rear tires spun sending the Mark II sideways.

The AW11 followed a tight interior line. Al tried to bring his nose as close to the inside as possible. The MR2's engine placement allowed it to swing its rear end easier then the FR Toyota.

After a few more light turns, came the first hairpin. Al slowed down and gripped the corner tight to the inside. The MR2 drifted exceptionally well. Al knew that a light MR would drift well. He was counting on it.

Al looked over at Mei. He was still waiting for something. What the hell was going on in the little head of his? He looked back at the road as he heel-toe downshifted and entered the sharp right hander.

------------------------------

Mei shifted his body slightly as the turning forces hit him. He looked at the AW11's tail lights as both cars quickly swung the other way. His mind slowly drifted back to the good ol' days.

_Mike sat on the hood of his Monte Carlo and looked over at the blue MR2 that sat across from him. He was tapping his foot. Even if his Monte Carlo was pushing out 350 horsepower, it scared him in the corners of the Lake._

_Nik walked away from Kyle and said to him, "Ok, say me and Kyle will race around going east, and you and Jordan will race west. You go first."_

_Mei gulped, "Couldn't we just have you race Jordan and get it over with?"_

"_No, I explained this to you. Touge is a two way battle."_

"_But he has a MR2. It's lighter and built for corners. It'll kill my Monte Carlo."_

"_We just adjusted the suspension. You said yourself on the way over that it felt lighter because of it."_

"_Yeah, but…"_

"_But nothing, I know you'll win."_

"_How?"_

"_Because a mid-engine car has a weakness. When it fishtails, it doesn't come back easy."_

"_What?"_

"_I read about it in my Physics book. It has to do with the weight positioning and friction or something like that."_

"_But Nik…"_

"_Trust me. When he makes a mistake, attack. The second part of the course is the widest where he'll drive harder. He'll mess up and there will be enough room for you to pass. Just don't hesitate."_

"_Ok, I'll try…"_

He'd won that race. It was against the same car. He didn't know back then, but the reason he won was because of the uncontrollable weight in the rear of the car. Only a true MR master could handle that kind of car.

The driver handled the car well, but Alex's natural ability to put pressure on an opponent was what had always allowed him to win, especially when he used to race his friends on quads.

Now, on this Touge, it was working. Al had a lot more power then the AW11 and Mei had noticed that he could slow down his movements slightly, even on the downhill. Passing was the issue. All this power and no where to use it.

Both the cars where about half way down the hill now. The AW11 was beginning to gain momentum in the turns. Al had started to take corners in 3rd gear instead of second. Things were heating up.

Al attacked harder. He started to push along the inside. The AW11 was holding up at a greater angle. Al couldn't drift out that far if he wanted to. The rear tires had enough grip to hold up. More rear power had to be applied for a spin out.

Al pushed harder and noticed Hitomi was struggling to keep her tires facing straight. Her wheels were fully turned; almost to the point where she was gonna break her tie-rod.

Al let off a little bit. Mei nodded lightly to himself. Al was giving Hitomi room. She would soon lose control and the hairpins were coming up. She would spin or slow down to handle the weight.

Al waited and smiled as his anticipation. He was gonna win when she spun. Then it happened on the first hairpin her spin began. Al got on the gas and headed towards the inside were there was an opening.

Al passed and then Hitomi had slowed down enough to save herself from going off the edge. Al nodded in assurance before going back to full throttle and sliding around the next hairpin curve.

He upshifted and took the next hairpin in second, leaving ample room for anyone to pass him. As he rounded the long, wide corner near the end of the course, he saw the MR2's pop-ups shining in his rear. She caught up and finished 2 seconds after him.

Al stopped the car and looked at Mei, "What were you watching for?"

He smirked, "Nothing."

Al shrugged and got out of his sedan. He looked over at Hitomi who as sitting on her trunk, her legs draped over the spoiler. He screamed out, "Good race!"

She smiled, "Thanks!"

The FD, FC, Evo IV, and 240Z stopped at the bottom of the mountain. Kio stepped out and said, "I'm gonna have Ryoko run the uphill against the Evo. Then I'll run the downhill against the FD."

Mei nodded, "Alright, we'll all head up then. Al, stay down here with Hitomi and start the race."

Mei slipped into the stock bucket seat of Jen's FD and everyone headed up the mountain. Jen asked, "How'd it go?"

He nodded, "Fine."

"Everything work out like you expected?"

"So far so good."

She smiled and looked back at the road, "Let's hope it stays that way…"

-------------------------------------

Sara revved the engine up to 5,000 rpm and then let it drop. Al began the countdown. She revved up to five and then let off the clutch, feeling all four tires spin quickly before taking off down the road.

Ryoko got the advantage of a quick start. Sara brought the Evo right up to the rear end of the Cabriolet. When the FC broke, she broke. They sent the cars into the curve. The FC had a tight interior line. Sara drifted.

She lost a little ground, but the four wheel drive was more effectively used if the car oversteered a little. She downshifted and breathed out. She brought the car in. She slid out.

The RX7 had a very good transmission that delivered the power to the wheels quickly, even for a rotary engine. It had amazing acceleration in third gear. She breathed out again, kind of stressed.

She hit the gas and powered around the next curve. She had met up with the rear end of the opposing car and followed it around the next curve. Suddenly, the FC broke abruptly.

She hit the breaks hard and downshifted but then the FC drifted around the lighter corner. She hit the gas and tried to catch up again. She was back on her bumper half way up the course.

Partially farther up the course, she tried it again. Sara used her four wheel drive to do exactly what she wanted it to do. Understeer. She hit the gas and no drift. She then double-clutched into third and oversteered around the curve.

The FC had fallen behind and then hadn't been able to catch up because of a lack of power. Sara finished off in the lead and took the uphill for the Blak Nites. She pulled in next to Mei and Jen. Mei embraced her.

-------------------------------------

Jen smiled and watched as the 240Z pulled up to the line. She revved up her FD and spun her tires to the starting line. She smiled. She loved flashy moves like that. She revved up the engine as Ryoko made the countdown.

She roared off the line in the lead. It wasn't a surprise as Kiosuke had a very little horsepower. She entered the first curve at a high speed. She used the gas to find her angle. She carried it to the next turn where she whipped the back end around and felt out the best line.

Kio followed her through tight. He had a lot of control of his car. His style incorporated something more along the lines of an oversteering grip technique then a drift technique.

He followed her tight through the first hairpin and the adjoining curves. She came to the second hairpin and broke solidly, heel-toe downshifting into third gear and drifting halfway through the turn before dropping into second to finish it off.

Kio followed her up and tried to dig his front end in as far as he could without catching the gutter. She hit the gas and pulled away, allowing all 350 horses pull her away from the 240Z.

She feathered the gas pedal as her rear end began sliding outwards as she past around the next sharp left, then sliding into the adjoining long right. Kio followed up to her rear again and tried to pass on the outside. Her drift was too wide.

She smirked, "Come on buddy, you can do better then that."

She hit the gas and pulled away from him at the end of the curve. She watched as Kio broke early at the corner that sat right before the hairpins. She entered at top speed, sliding her rear, losing about 20 KMH by the apex. She smiled.

Just then, the 240Z came up behind her strong. She finished off her drift and hit the gas as she was passed. Her eyes widened. He'd broken through her defense by utilizing the only advantage the race had given him. His engine.

She smiled as she hit the gas and drifted into the hairpins, as he once again began utilizing a prime entry speed and the prime exit speed, instead of alternating them. He took complete advantage of the hairpins as Akina's 86 would have.

She sighed as the race was finished off. She broke hard and skidded to a stop by Al's Mark II. Al looked over at her and nodded. She nodded in return. She'd always liked the kid, even when he was just a punk.

Mei and Sara pulled up behind them. Mei got out and walked over. He smiled at both of them and said, "Good runs, both of you."

Al nodded, "Yeah, but mine didn't count, you can still run a tie breaker."

Mei shook his head, "They can have it. I don't mind."

"No way man, way too much fun."

Mei looked over his shoulder at Kiosuke. He smiled, "Sorry man, you've raced everything we got tonight."

"What about your team leader? I can wait."

Mei sighed, "He's away, but I'll tell you what. I'll get in touch with you when he gets back and let you and him run the downhill."

Kio nodded, "You got it bro, good race. We'll see you around."

Mei nodded and got into the passenger seat of the Mark II, "Let's go hom…"

His annoying ring tone kept repeating in his pocket. He picked it up and heard Kevin's voice on the other end. He also heard the sound of some engines behind him. Sounded like turbocharged 4G63's.

Mei asked, "What's going on?"

"Dude, you guys gotta get here fast."

"Why?"

"The Emperors are in Myogi!"


	14. Myogi Empire

Mei slammed onto the gas of the Evo as he meshed the gears and switched into the left lane on the highway. Sara was holding onto the overhead handle by the door and staring ahead as Mei tapped the gas and sent the car into a long drift.

Alex and Jen weren't too far behind. Mei had immediately taken over Sara's car from the second after he'd hung up his phone. He couldn't believe they were in Myogi…AGAIN!

He took the exit and power slid down the road until regaining traction and taking off again. He began the uphill climb a moment later. He looked at Sara and asked, "You OK, sweetie."

"Ya, why wouldn't I be? You're only going 160 km/h."

"Good." He double tapped the gas to induce a light over steer and then went around a few hairpins before he got a view of the top of the mountain. He could see the S-14 and the GT-S Skyline.

As he rounded the next curve, the Evo's came into view. 3 of them, a gray one, a red one, and a blue one, each of them proudly displaying the Emperors team sticker.

He pulled into the lot, followed by Al and Jen. He stopped by Kev and got out, "How long have they been here?"

"20, 25 minutes."

He nodded and turned, looking at the center Evo, a red Evo V. He composed himself quickly and walked over towards the group of cars. He stopped and watched as the guy, a young man with short, spiky, black hair, approached him and stopped 5 feet away.

He smiled, "My name is Irriaki from Team Emperor."

"I'm Meikeru, from The Blak Nites."

He nodded, "Our leaders are interested in racing your team, seeing as you are the new representing team from Myogi. We beat the Night Kids; you beat the Night Kids, something like that."

He nodded and asked, "This isn't another attempt at taking over Gunma, is it?"

He smiled and laughed lightly, "Yeah, that'd be funny. Ryosuke pretty much straightened out Kyouichi."

"So why come back and race us?"

"Friendly competition, that's all."

"Ok, I guess. So are we racing you or…"

"Seiiji and Kyouichi is who you'll be racing officially. They just sent me here because they're racing in Saitama. But, I think it might be a good thing if maybe we just run a practice race."

Mei tapped his foot, "Sounds good. We can run a downhill if you want. You're choice."

He nodded and looked over his shoulder, "I wanna race the kid."

Al's eyes widened, "Me?"

"Yeah, how about it? Me and you on the downhill."

Al looked at Mei, receiving an approving glance. He looked back, "Sure…"

Al got into his Mark II and started up the 1JZ-GTE. He pulled up to the line next to the red Evo. He revved it up to the red line and then let it drop to five before hitting the gas again. Jen did the countdown.

He lost the lead. It had sounded like the car had a boost controller that sent the power through his lower power band so he could take off better. He experienced some lag after he shifted into second. Al caught up to him and drifted around the first curve, taking a second to glance back at the Nites that sat on the hill.

He then took the next curve with his eyes focused on the rear end of the Evo. He hit the gas and induced over steer around the next curve. Neither car was up to top speed yet.

The next turns were more difficult then the previous, and Al could see the Evo's famous 4-wheel drive beginning to do its magic. It gripped the road so well it was almost like god was moving it around like a matchbox car.

Al downshifted into third and carried the car through a long sweeping left. The Evo gripped the curve and gained a car length. Al swore under his breath. He had underestimated this driver.

He put the car into fourth gear and exited the curve. As he shifted up to fifth, he noticed a pattern in the Evo it attacked every corner individually. There was no flow to his technique. He drove like Sato.

Al smiled quickly but then frowned. Sato's advantage lay in his lack of power and love for grip driving. This guy had atleast 350 hp and drifted where he had to. He drifted defensively.

Al fell into a set of hairpins that he flowed through. Once again, he studied the pattern of the Evo. It was nearly flawless. There was one point where you could tell he separated the corners.

Al decided to try to exploit that point, in an attempt to catch him off guard. As he attacked the next curve, he slowed down and adjusted his speed so he could use the slow in, fast out move.

As he dropped the RPM's down, the Evo kicked out its rear end. Al attacked the interior line behind him going 15 km/h below the optimal entry speed. As he came out, he hit the gas hard and took off. He had timed it almost perfectly. He caught the Evo off guard and screwed up his outward line.

Al smiled and was about to kick back to the inside when the Evo slammed in the gas and began to drift through the inside lane. He got so close to Al, he panicked. He hit the brakes and he skidded against the guard rail.

Al shook slightly as he came to a stop, his right tires in the gutter. He looked ahead at the Evo as it drifted around the next curve. He was showboating. Al slammed his fist onto the steering wheel.

The red Evo came up and stopped next to him. Al rolled down his window. He looked over at the driver who was smiling. Al crawled over the seats and stepped out of the car.

The other guy opened his door and rested his arms on the roof of the Evo. He smiled, "That was a good move back there kid. I'm sure it would have worked on any of your less experienced opponents. You made one mistake."

He looked up, his American rage slowly subsiding, "What?"

"You didn't realize to the full extent the advantage of an Evo's 4WD. Also you should look in your physics book. There's this thing called weight distribution. Mine allowed me to have more pull power in my front tires then my rear. That way I was able to keep control in a single lane."

"I figured that was how you were able to pull out, but then how you forced the over steer…"

"After I came around, the weight switched and I was able to kick out my rear. It probably would have been easier if I hadn't but I was ready for it, comes from track experience."

"I see…"

"Don't beat yourself up kid, you did decent. You just weren't ready for your opponent." He slid into his driver seat and looked out the open window and said, "Welcome to the big leagues kid."

Al watched as the Evo drove back up the mountain. He swore and hit his hood. He then heard the FD, S-14, LanEvo, and GT-S reach him. He looked up and immediately saw Mei's face.

He looked into his eyes, "Good try."

"So when's the real race?"

"Saturday."

He nodded and suddenly became very serious, "Good…"

-----------------------------------------------

Clash. Bang. Those were pretty much the sounds coming from Al's side of Kevin's garage for the next two days. He had pulled and taken apart the engine and had begun to rebuild it, utilizing the performance parts he had ordered.

Mei sat on the hood of his R32 and looked over at him. He sighed out. He had finished his upgrades a little earlier that day. He had pushed his Skyline up to an even 420 hp. That was the most he had ever had on any car he'd ever owned. Kevin was installing a roll cage for overall stability on Mei's car. It had moved from a daily driver into a full fledged race car.

He looked over at Sara, who was being taught how to correctly double clutch by Jen. He smiled lightly. They were getting along pretty well. Only took them almost 5 years.

He then stared across at Kevin, who was working on some wiring with the Maserati. He had finished up the engine a day or so ago. It sounded amazing. They had set up a race with the wagon team. It was the same night as the Evo race.

Kevin, Sato, Sara, and Jen were going to go to Tokyo. He didn't want them in Myogi that night. Ross and Pete had agreed after quite a large argument to only watch. If Nik wasn't back, Al was going to run the downhill race.

Mei looked over at Al, as Sato was helping him to remount the tuned up engine. It was now pushing out 360 hp. Excellent for a downhill touge. The new coilovers would go on tomorrow morning. Then there'd be nothing to do but wait…

"Hey hunny, what you thinking about?"

"Bunny rabbits."

She laughed, "So, you and Al against the Emperors…"

"Irriaki said it best, 'welcome to the big leagues…'"

"So what are you gonna do after the Emperors?"

"What do you mean?"

"Who are you gonna race next? Todo-juku?"

"Sara, I don't even know if we're going to beat the Emperors. I'm kinda worried about that right now. After that, I'll worry about people like Todo-juku."

"Ok, ok! I was just wondering…"

"Ok…"

"Hunny bear…"

"What?"

"Why can't I come to the race with you Saturday?"

He sighed, "Because you have to go to Tokyo with Kevin and everyone."

"They can go on their own, they don't need me."

He sighed again, "We need to present a united front. It's important that you go."

"But…"

"No buts." He placed his lips on hers quickly before pulling away, "For me baby, please?"

She grunted lightly and looked away, "Ok…"

He smiled and looked back out at the garage. Soon she heard a roar. It was Al's Mark II. It was roaring. He looked at it and listened to the engine rev. He smiled, and then heard the faint ring on his cell phone.

He dug into his pocket and walked outside to get away from the sound of the now subsiding engine. He put the phone to his ear and said, "Hello?"

"Hey man, how've you been!"

"Nik?"

"Yeah bro, I'm at the docks in Okinawa."

"You are? You're coming home?"

"Yeah man, on the first ship I can find."

"Cool bro, do you have the FC?"

"No, I sold it."

"You what?"

"I sold it, bought something new."

"What'd you get?"

"A car."

"I know that! What kind?"

"A Nissan."

Mei growled with a smile on his face, "What kind of Nissan?"

"A… oh shit, I gotta catch this boat. I'll call you when I get in!"

"Nik? Nik!"

The line had gone dead. He sighed and put the phone in his pocket as he walked inside the shop. Everyone was sitting around Al's Mark II. They looked at him. He pondered for a second about telling them.

He then breathed in deeply, "Nik just called."

All eyes glued to him. He breathed out slowly. Al was the first one to speak, "What'd he say? Where is he?"

"He's at the docks in Okinawa trying to find a boat for himself and his new car."

Jen's eyes widened, "He got a new car? What happened to the FC?"

"He sold it."

Al choked a little bit, "What!"

Mei nodded, "That's what I thought."

Kev asked, "When's he getting in?"

"I don't know, he's gotta find a boat." Mei looked down at his watch, "The boats aren't gonna travel too late at night I don't think, so probably he'll have to wait till tomorrow."

Sato sighed, "It's close to an eight hour boat ride. Then an hour and a half from Tokyo where he's most likely docking. That's almost ten hours all and all."

Al nodded, "But the race doesn't start till ten. He can still make it."

Mei sighed, "He's cutting it close, as usual…"

Jen smiled, "But he always has, remember? And somehow, he always comes through."

Mei smiled, "Yeah, I s'pose so."

Sara sighed, "I'm gonna go to the docks tomorrow and wait for Nik while you guys are at Wangan. Then I'll meet up with Rage."

Mei nodded and looked over at Al, "You running good?"

"Yeah, sounds real good."

"Why don't you, Pete, and Ross go run the pass a few times, just in case."

Al nodded, "Good call."

Pete got into the passenger seat of the Chaser and Ross looked at Mei, "Hey, take it easy."

Mei nodded and waved lightly, "I'll see ya."

-----------------------------------

The Toyota 4-doors began to speed up on the highway. Ross pulled ahead of Al and drifted through the inner lane of the next curve. They both pulled off the Akina exit.

As they headed up the mountain, both cars began a high speed chase, Al trying to overtake Ross. He still was producing 40 more horsepower, but Al was gonna show him how much skill he really had.

Al caught up to his backend. They came around the last corner and Al pulled into the center and drifted through the curve. He tried to pass him at the exit. No go. He had too much speed at the exit.

Al looked to the side as he pulled into the left shoulder on Mt. Akina. There sat the Akina Speed Stars. Al smiled and brought his car to a complete stop before killing the engine.

He got out and noticed another familiar car, the panda Trueno that he'd seen when making his deliveries. He waved. The other driver, whose name he remembered as Takumi, waved back.

He yelled over, "How are you guys?"

Iketani yelled over, "Not bad! You're from the Blak Nites, right?"

He nodded and crossed the street, "Yeah, I am."

He nodded, "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

He nodded, "Yeah, it has."

Takumi gained his eye contact, "You got a new car."

Al nodded, "Yeah, it's a Toyota Mark II turbo.

He nodded, "It sounded really powerful."

He nodded, "Nothing to complain about with 360 horses."

Takumi nodded, "Is it FR?"

Al nodded a little confused, "Yeah, of course."

Itsuki smacked Takumi on the back of the head, "You bone-head. Best driver I've ever met but don't know cars for shit."

Al laughed lightly, before hearing Iketani say, "I heard you guys are going up against the Emperors."

Al nodded, "Yeah, and my brothers not gonna be home till tomorrow night. If he doesn't make it, I'll be racing the downhill."

Takumi sighed, "Seiji wasn't too hard of an opponent."

Al raised his eyebrows, "What! You don't get to become the second fastest racer on one of the fastest teams in Kanto and then be 'not too hard'!"

Takumi shrugged, "Well, I did have to use the gutters because he tried to pull away a lot."

Ross raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Used the gutters?"

Itsuki nodded, "Yeah, It's amazing to watch. It's a full grip technique, with a slide on the exit only when he pops out of the gutter."

Al asked, "So what do you do?"

Takumi looked up, "It's pretty simple. I just find the best line to take while knowing I'm getting in that close. Then I just drop in my tires. Besides that, it's pretty much just not overdoing it on the exit."

Al shrugged, "I still don't get it."

Takumi opened the door of his car, "Hop in, I'll show you."

Al nodded and walked around to the passenger side. He slid in and heard the engine come to life. It sounded amazing. Not a roar, but not a purr either. Like a mellow growl.

As they started off, things went easily enough. Soon they were in fourth gear approaching the first turn. Al braced himself for the G-forces. He waited and then…nothing. He looked over at Takumi. He hadn't even attempted to brake yet.

A second later, the G-forces hit him hard as he witnessed one of the fastest downshifts he'd ever seen. The car began to slide sideways at 180 km/h. Al braced himself as they clipped the inner apex.

His heart was beating like bulls running through the streets of Spain. They exited that corner inches from the guard rail. Al breathed out quickly before the next corner came. He could feel his stomach churning.

_A minute and a half later…_

They quickly approached the first hairpin. Al's face was pale white. He looked ahead and watched as Takumi dropped his front left tire into the gutter, followed by his rear left.

Al looked with weary eyes outside the window. They were very close to the edge but going extremely fast. As the tires popped out of the gutter they followed an almost perfect grip line.

As the next one came, same technique. The fastest hairpin technique He'd ever seen. They went even faster around the next ones. The amazement almost made him forgot he had to puke.

As they finished off, he fully drifted around the next curve and then finished the last to corners at a speed that Al still thought of as fast. They came to a slow roll at the bottom of the hill. He slammed on the gas and whipped the back end around and took off back up the mountain.

_4 minutes later…_

They pulled into the upper lot and slowed to a stop. Al stepped out of the car quite quickly. Everyone looked at him with wide eyes. He then ran behind the building as everyone looked over him. Al they could here was the sound of him gagging.

He came back out and wiped his face with his sweatshirt. They all looked at him. He walked over to the hood of his Mark II and sat down. He looked over at Takumi with wide eyes.

"That was an excellent technique."

Takumi nodded, "My dad's was a little better, but I guess it's alright."

Al grabbed a half full bottle of water out of his car, "How'd you get that good?"

"I ran deliveries for my dad on Akina since I was thirteen."

He nodded as he tossed the bottle back in his passenger seat, "Really? Do you still do the deliveries?"

He nodded, "Yeah, when I'm not out of town with Ryosuke and Keisuke."

"Really? When are you leaving again?"

"Hmmm, next Tuesday we're heading into Irabagi to practice for a race on Friday night. Why?"

_5:00 am, Fujiwara Tofu Shop_

The old man sat there, a cigarette dangling from his lips. He breathed in lightly as the red embers on the top illuminated and slowly subsided as a slow smoke rose, followed by a puff from the man's mouth as the cigarette was removed.

"So, you've delivered tea?"

Al nodded, "Hai."

"Tea is packaged well and doesn't damage easily. Tofu is much different. The texture and build is much easier to break and in turn, spoil."

Al nodded, "Hai."

"I'll hire you, under two conditions."

Al nodded, "Hai?"

"Number one, you are here tomorrow morning to begin to learn how to make Tofu, so you understand it better."

He nodded, "Hai, and?

"Your team wins the race against the Lan Evo's on Mt. Myogi tonight."

Al raised his eyebrow, "What? I'm not even racing."

He shrugged, "Not my concern, my son is gonna be watching the race with his new team. He'll let me know who wins and loses."

"But that's not fa…"

"You gonna keep mouthing off or are you going to buy some Tofu."

"I…but…we…deep fried?"

"600 yen."

Al dug through his wallet and pulled out two pieces of paper equaling 600 yen. He handed it over as a block of Tofu was dropped into the deep fryer. A second later, the cooked block was placed in a bag and handed over to him.

He pushed the door open and got into his Mark II. He started up the engine and drove by the infamous 86 as he drove away from the green shopping district and towards the highway.

He pulled off in downtown Myogi and drove over to the Gotsu family restaurant. He went into the restaurant that only housed two people. He sat it the counter and ordered a coffee. He then heard something weird. Giggling.

He looked through the order window and saw Maka on the telephone with a smile on her face. In all the time he'd seen her, he'd never seen her smile like that. She then hung up the phone and walked over to the counter with that same smile on her face.

She asked, "Hey, how are you?"

He pondered momentarily and then sipped his coffee, "Fine…"

"What's wrong?"

"You're happy."

She nodded, "I just got off the phone with your brother."

"You…did?"

"Yeah, he asked me to go with him to lunch tomorrow."

"And you said yes?"

She looked back at him inquisitively, "Why do you seem so surprised?"

"I don't know, maybe because the last time you spoke to him, you fired him and kicked him out of your restaurant while breaking up with him all at once."

She shrugged, "I know, but he was just being so sweet. I couldn't resist him…"

He shivered, his thoughts going back to Mei and Sara in the bedroom. He looked up, "I'm glad, I guess…"

She nodded, "Coffee's on the house."

Al nodded and said thank you as she walked into the back of the restaurant. He then heard a faint yawn come from behind him. He smiled and but his hand behind him and caught her stomach.

Miki smiled, "Good morning to you too."

He spun around the seat and looked at her, kissing her lips gently, "How'd you sleep?"

"Alright, hey, what are you doing next Saturday?"

"Nothing I think, why?"

"Well, a bunch of us were planning on going to go to the beach on the west coast. I wanted you to go too."

He nodded, "That sounds like fun."

"Could you give Kira and her boyfriend a ride there too?"

He nodded once more, "Sure."

She kissed him gently, "Thank you sweetie."

He nodded and watched her walk away before finishing his coffee. He walked outside and was about to step into his Mark II when he saw a red Toyota Levin 86. He noticed the guy. He watched as he was walking down the alley.

Al ran over and stopped him before he got to the stairs, "Hold up."

The guy, who couldn't be any older then Nik, looked back, "Can I help you?"

Al nodded, "Yeah, you can turn back around and walk back to your Levin."

"Dude, I'm going to talk to my sister, fuck off."

"Look, the last time you talked to her, you drove away with her in tears. She's happy, don't fuck with it."

"You're that Nik guy, aren't you?"

"No, I'm his brother. It's not the point. Keep her happy, leave her alone."

He pushed Al backwards a foot, "I'll tell you one more time, fuck off…"

Al clenched his fists but let go calmly, "I'll be watching you…"

There eyes didn't part for the entire time until he knocked on the back door. He saw Maka walk out and hug him. She really must be happy. He sat on the hood of the Levin and watched as they talked for almost fifteen minutes.

Then he walked back over towards Al. He stood up and walked away. He heard the engine roar to life. A turbo and a supercharger. He sighed. Increased intake speed for the lower power band and reverse exhaust for the upper combined with a specially designed blow-off valve that could be heard a mile away. The guy knew 4AGE's.

Unfortunatley, Al knew the one flaw with the set-up from his experiences with his own 86. The mid-band, most likely between 4 and 6 thousand would experience a strong lag in approximately 3rd and 4th gear.

He sighed, starting up the Mark II and taking off down the road. He got back on the highway and headed south to Myogi. He got off and saw something weird in the parking lot by the bottom of the mountain. Cars. Lots and lots of Cars."

He drove buy them slowly. S-13's, S-14's, Trueno's, 180's, R32's, R33's, Soarer's, Supra's, SW20's, everything. It was like an auto show. He drove buy and hit the gas as he headed up to the house. He parked and saw that Sato's car was there.

He walked in and saw Sato and Mei sitting at the dining room table. He said hi and passed by them. He thought they must be talking about the race on Wangan tonight. He went into his room and fell onto his bed. He closed his eyes lightly and fell asleep.

_9:27, Mt. Myogi summit, Saturday, April 22, 2000…_

Mei gently made his way up the mountain. He watched all the cars on every side of him. He saw some familiar ones. Blue Blaze was here, as well as Hidden Gold. He could also see Impact Blue and the Speed Stars.

Even the Night Kids were here, as well as a few members of the Northern Saitama Alliance. He pulled to a stop at the top of the mountain. He stepped out of his R32 and sat against the hood. Across the way, he saw an Evo IV and Evo III. He breathed out gently.

He looked behind him at Al, who was sitting on the hood of his car. He looked nervous. Nik was supposed to be here to lighten the mood. Where the fuck was he? He felt his cell phone vibrate.

He brought the small black box brought to his ear, "Hello?"

"I just saw Nik, he flew by me."

Mei nodded as a slight smile came to his face, "Good, head over to the highway with everyone else. Bye baby."

The phone beeped as the call ended. He shoved it back in his pocket and looked at Al, "He's on his way."

Al breathed out and smiled, "Now the Emperor's don't know what they're getting themselves into…"

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This was by far the longest chapter I've ever written. I'm gonna take Wiseman's advice and move away from everyone else's characters, exactly how I was planning to. The second part of my Blak Nite's story didn't come out how I wanted exactly, but I'm sure I can turn things around with Part 3…


	15. Emperors in Myogi

Sara pulled up next to Jen's FD. She exited and looked ahead as a silver Impreza GF8 sat next to Kevin's 3200GT. She walked over and bumped into Sato with a smile, "How long till they start?"

A moment later the cars left the starting line with there tires squealing loudly. The GF8 caught the lead and sped past Kevin as they approached the on ramp. They sped up it and out of sight as the engines roared loudly.

"Who do you think will win?"

Jen shrugged, "I don't know. Both cars have twin turbos and are putting out relatively the same in the end. Kevin might have more, but the Impreza is delivering its power with all four wheels."

Sara nodded, "I guess we just wait…"

--------------------------------

The white Evo IV and the white Skyline GTR32 sat at the starting line empty. The drivers were on different sides of the road. Mei was sitting with Al, Ross, and Pete. It was five of ten.

Just then, Mei heard the sound of rotary engines. He looked over and saw a white FC3S and a yellow FD3S followed by a panda Trueno and an orange S-14. They came to a stop at the starting line and Mei stared over a small crowd to see them. He knew it was Project D.

He walked up in time to here the conversation start. Ryosuke said, "What's your team doing back in Gunma Kyouichi?"

His grim face became grimmer at the sound of his voice, "I came to race. I'm done with my take over plan, but I still race."

Ryosuke nodded, "I thought that you were going to stay out of Gunma."

He sighed, "I heard about the new Myogi team and wanted to see if they were worthy. Of course that loser Nakazato isn't hard to follow. Now if you'll excuse us, we have a race."

The emperor team walked away and Mei had turned around when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked behind him to see Ryosuke Takahashi. He heard his voice whisper, "The Evo will try to stay behind you. Give him the lead. You'll learn things about your course by following a fellow four-wheeler."

Mei opened his mouth lightly before closing it and saying, "Thank you."

Ryosuke turned around and walked away as Mei did the same. He looked at Al, "Head to the top and run over the race in your head, just in case."

Al nodded, "Good luck." He got into the Mark II and was followed up by the Chaser. Mei got into the driver's seat of his 32 and revved up the engine before putting it in gear.

The cars awaited the countdown as Kyouichi's fingers slowly counted down. Mei released his clutch and felt the tires slowly begin to spin underneath him. He was burning out although gaining ground slowly as the White Evo took off in the lead.

Mei knew he was gonna regret the amount of tire grip he lost later, but now he had to race. They raced around the first curves in an effortless ease. The Evo had an amazing oversteer potential. The weight gave it an amazing advantage.

Mei upshifted into fourth gear. He had a horsepower advantage on the Evo, basically that was all that was setting them apart. As they came to a 90 degree curve, the Evo began a full drift. Mei spun his rears lightly and tried a grippy approach.

The Evo still had advantage. An uphill touge was decided on power and maneuverability. Mei had the power, but maneuverability was cornered by the light weight Evo. Mei swore.

The cars past the halfway mark. The course was beginning to become slightly more treacherous as more curves approached both racers. As they entered a hairpin set, Mei decided to go over what he learned and take down this Evo.

The Evo always was at full throttle, revving near the red line. On the uphill, he reserved to using engine breaking, meaning that he wasn't using his brakes at all. Most would think that this would be a disadvantage because of the amount of tire spin received, but the Evo controlled it well and used it to his advantage.

Now, the Evo didn't have as much weight to throw around as Mei did, making the uphill more dangerous for him. If Mei tried the same technique, he'd be lucky if he didn't go through the guardrail, but on a downhill…

Mei finished up the hairpins and accelerated through a few more turns on the Evo's rear end. Soon, they rounded the second to last corner and began heading towards the final, downhill curve. Mei was at full throttle as they approached the wide, left hand turn.

Mei downshifted from 5th into 4th and began to drift. The Evo did the same thing, but quickly went down to third to hold up the angle. Although the tires were still spinning, Mei was only revving 3,500 rpm.

Then, Mei dropped into 3rd and began to get more of an angle and actually gained speed, up to 135 km/h. The Evo was still moving faster, at about 150 km/h. But as the Evo came out, it lost speed. Mei continued drifting at now 145 km/h.

Mei drifted past the Evo on the inside and then whipped his back end around as he began to gain speed down to the finish line. Then, all of the sudden, the Evo past him on the left.

The Evo took the lead, by 1/8th of a second. Mei slammed on his brakes and skidded to a stop. He looked over at the Emperor team as Seiji stepped out of his 'Monstar' Evo with a wicked smile on his face.

Mei stepped out of his R32 and slammed the door. He looked over at Al, "Did you hear from Nik yet?"

He shook his head, "No."

Mei sighed and rubbed his forehead, "Get on the line…"

Al's eyes bulged, "Couldn't we…?"

"No, we go now."

"But…"

"Pay close attention to the way that Evo moves, it'll show you how to win."

Al opened his mouth to speak but soon contained his urge. He got into his Mark II and pulled up to the line. He sat there for ten minutes as people moved around and the white Evo put on a new set of tires.

A moment before it pulled up to the line, Al's cell phone began to ring. He brought it to his ear, "Hello?"

"Al, I now you don't have much time, beating the Evo will be easy with your upgrades. I know about what you tried last time. It was the best plan, although poorly executed."

"Who is this?"

"Look, you can't do it at the hairpins. There's a chicane right after the second to last hairpin set. Pull along the side of the Evo and don't let him drift. His drift will make you lose."

"Nik?"

"Just stay on his ass and lay on the pressure. If he gives you the lead, lose it. It'll make him cocky. Then pick the outside at the Chicane. Pull ahead and take out the last 6 corners slow. Block his ass hard. Then I'll run the tiebreaker."

"Nik, is it you?"

The line went dead and he heard a faint revving to his left. The Evo was there. He revved up the engine. He looked ahead as Mei did the count down. 5…4…3…2…1…

--------------------------------------------------------

_Ten minutes ago…_

Kevin slammed onto his brakes as he skidded to a stop in the parking lot where both teams sat. He was ahead. He smirked as he stepped out of the slowly subsiding Maserati. He looked at the team and nodded.

Jen asked, "Do you have enough gas?"

He nodded, "Yeah, let's go."

They said good bye and took off, following Sato's S-14. He was swerving along the highway and jumping onto back roads, practically following the Shinkiba tracks side by side. This way was gonna save them a half hour. At their speed, at should only take them 45 minutes to get back to Gunma.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Alex rounded the first corner and brought the car back to the center and upshifted to third. He had given the Evo the lead. He was watching him slowly. Something Mei said. Then there was what Nik said…

Al knew that a hairpin set and a chicane were technically the same idea for the technique he wanted to use. The hairpin allowed more time to execute the technique. But then again, it also allowed more time for the Evo to counter and come back. And this Evo was a lot better then the other.

Al downshifted and pulled his E-brake as he turned into the curve. He feathered the throttle and watched as the Evo pulled a tight drift. 4 wheel drive had a lot of speed. Angling one is very difficult, but they have a lot of speed.

Al's movements had become a lot more fluid lately. He was shifting near sequentially. His feet moved like he was walking. He was becoming really good at what he did. He smirked momentarily.

He focused back on his race. He clutched in and shifted into neutral. He revved the engine and placed the car in third, letting the rear tires spin out. He followed the Evo around the tight left.

He gripped the next curve and caught up to the rear of the Evo. He was surprised how good he was doing. He started to try to grip more curves that the Evo drifted. He wanted to stay right on him.

He downshifted and gripped a long left hander. He felt as though the car was beginning to perform like an FF, constantly following the front tires. He was less scared of pushing it harder.

He began the hairpin set by the chicane. He clutched in, downshifted, lit 'em up and steered along the road effortlessly. He began to gain on the Evo. As the Chicaned approached, The Evo began to swerve in a blocking maneuver

Al couldn't dig in. There was too much of a chance he'd get hit. He held back and attempted to find an opening. When they came to the corner, Al pulled along the outside.

He drifted, and attempted to control his front end. He watched as the Evo gripped through. Al had lost here. While drifting here, his exit speed was lost. The Evo took an over powering lead. Al downshifted. They continued down. 4 corners left, not including the hairpins.

He followed into the hairpins, going for a good time instead of a win. As they drifted along the last hairpin, his eyes caught contact with a set of hazel eyes staring back at him.

He hit the gas accidentally and fishtailed out. He was here. He had to win here, for the tie breaker. He knew what the eyes were telling him. They spoke louder then if he was screaming.

_What would I do?_

He jammed the gas and threw himself into a corner, causing the pure force of the turn to create a drift. He followed through and caught the Evo's box shaped rear end. He pulled along side only to be blocked. He smirked.

He attacked again on the corner exit, pulling along side. They were approaching a long sweeper. Al downshifted, causing RPM's to shoot up and shot forward as the power of his turbo kicked in.

He threw himself into the corner and was followed in by the Evo. Al focused on his front line. He followed it through the corner. He then whipped around to the final straight. He shot down it to the finish.

Al felt an overwhelming left off his shoulders as he pulled into a parking space by Ross and Pete. He got out and received many congratulatory remarks from his close friends. Some cars came down the mountain, including Mei's R32 and Kyouichi's Evo III.

Mei walked up to Al, "How did you do it?"

Al smiled, "Nik."

"What?"

"He was on the mountain."

"Where?"

"The last hairpins, he was just…"

"Are we gonna run a tie breaker?"

Mei looked up at Kyouichi, "Oh, umm, yeah, lets do it. We'll run another downhill with Seiji."

"No, I'm running the tie breaker."

"Wait, I…"

Mei stopped as a sound rang in his ears. A SR20DET, with a tuned port exhaust… It had a sound he'd only ever heard in one other place… On highland lake… in the middle of the morning… when a stupid teenager learned how to race…

Mei smirked, "The leader of the Blak Nites will meet you at the top of the mountain."

------------------------------------------------

Sorry it took so long. A lot of shit happened. I'll hope to finish up second stage in a few months with a couple more chapters. I'm still up in the air about the third and final series. We'll see I guess. I'm just a little upset about the fact I totaled my car today. Eh, just less money for gas, and more for the new one.

The Blak Nite


	16. Faster Then Before

A blue Nissan Silvia S-15 sat at the top of Mt. Myogi. Racers and spectators stared at it. It had an aura emanating from it. It couldn't be ignored. It was powerful. Nik smirked to himself and said…

"This is so cool…"

The Mark II and the R32 soon came up the mountain and Alex ran to his brother. Nik smiled and hugged him after stepping off of his hood. Mei walked over to him and embraced him as well.

Mei smiled, "So an S-15?"

Nik nodded and looked at it, "It's not exactly the highland 240 but it works."

Al agreed, "It's your kind of car."

Nik nodded and looked over as the Evo's pulled up to the line. He knew they could feel it. They stared almost in disbelief. Seiji and Kyouichi walked over to him.

Seiji spoke with a cocky grin, "So you're the leader of the Blak Nites, huh?"

Nik nodded, "Yep."

"Well, are you ready to lose?"

Nik shook his head, "Not really."

"Seiji."

Everyone looked at Kyouichi, "I'll be racing him on the downhill."

"But Kyouichi…"

Not another word was spoke. Kyouichi pulled up to the starting line. Mei did the countdown. Nik's tires spun violently as he took off behind the Evo. Mei walked over to the guard rail on the other side of the lot as they watched two sets of headlights start raging down the mountain and said…

"This is going to be intense."

----------------------------------

The Evo had the lead as it followed a tight line. It was definitely fast, but the S-15 stayed right with him. A bead of sweat rolled off of Kyouichi's face.

_How is he driving so fast?!?!!?_

Both cars kicked sideways into a long right hander. The S-15 kept to a tight line behind the Evo. The Evo was being pushed to its limits.

About a ¼ of the way down the course, Pete and Ross sat and watched as two sets of headlights came around the corner. Both cars were going at least 180 km/h. As they entered the corner, both cars were grip driving.

As they listened to the rubber squeal around an unseen corner, Ross said, "That's weird…"

Pete looked over at him, "What is?"

"Nik's driving a rear wheel drive car and maintaining a grip line while Kyouichi is fighting to stay on the road while gripping corners."

"So what's that mean?"

"It means that Nik's holding back…."

----------------------------------

Sara stopped talking to Jen as she saw the two sets of headlights approach the long hairpin turn they were on. Their attention rested on the two corners they could see.

Suddenly Nik's car pulled to the inside of the corner they were approaching. He pulled along side the Evo and prepares to take the inside of the first corner of the set. Kyouichi smiles as Nik is setting him up for his own passing technique, which will send Kyouichi even farther away from Nik.

As Kyouichi used the ideal braking point for this technique, Nik accelerated into the corner. Jen screamed as the S-15 was heading straight for her. They ran to the side as Nik seemed imminent on crashing.

With in a second the rear tires of the S-15 began to spin as the front wheels were turned to the right. They caught grip as the rear end of the Silvia went flying towards the guard rail, missing it by mere centimeters.

The car then caught grip and shot forward. A quick clutch-kick sent the car into another drift around the next turn. Kyouichi had slammed on the gas and begun to spin his car around. He quickly ripped the Emergency brake and spun the car around 180 degrees, coming to a complete stop.

Sara looked at Kyouichi's face. He was ghostly white. She felt a tap on her shoulder and looked towards the road down below. Nik was driving even faster now. They both smiled.

----------------------------------

A small smirk came to Nik's face as he came down the mountain. This was fun. When had driving been fun before? Had to have been at least a year. He smiled as he came around the next corner.

As he entered a hairpin set, he came wide off the first turn. He stayed on the gas and spun a 180 before cutting the wheel back and completing a 360 before drifting into the next turn. He heard people cheer.

As the whistle of his blow off valve subsided, the last corner came into view. He lit up the rear tires and came around the turn followed by a huge white cloud of smoke. He eased off the gas and slowed down as he pulled into the parking lot on the bottom.

He stepped out of his car and looked around to see everyone cheering. He smiled and waved at his crowd. His crowd. He giggled. He looked behind him and saw the Evo III come around the last corner and head down towards him.

It came to a stop and Kyouichi stepped out of the Mitsubishi. They both stared at each other. An awkward silence followed until Nik put his hand up with a smile. Kyouichi accepted his offer.

Nik said, "It was a pleasure racing you."

Kyouichi nodded, "You're a talented driver."

A huge group of cars came down the mountain. The Blak Nites all pulled over to him. All 8 of them. His whole team. They all congratulated him and then Nik suggested they should all go get drunk at the house. There was no argument.

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By 3 AM, everyone was passed out somewhere in the house. Nik sat on the porch with a glass in his hand that he sipped on slowly as he stared out over Myogi valley.

Mei slipped and barley caught himself as he walked over to the railing. He put his hand on Nik's shoulder, "What's going on bro?"

Nik looked over at him, "Not much."

"Hey, I wanna show you something." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. He opened it to reveal a diamond ring and a huge smile came to Mei's face.

Nik looked at him, "I'm not marrying you."

"No, you dumb-ass. I'm gonna ask Sara to marry me."

"Really?"

"Ya…I love her."

Nik nodded, "Good."

Mei stood up, "You need to find your ass a girlfriend."

Nik nodded, "Ya, I know."

"So, do you think that you could teach me to do the 360 thing?"

Nik nodded, "When you're sober. Go to sleep cuz."

Mei nodded and stumbled towards his bedroom where Sara was already asleep. Nik looked out over the valley as he sipped on his cup. He wondered about things when he starts getting buzzed.

He sighed. He missed his FC, but the S-15 was definitely a better car. His well-tuned SR20DET motor was perfectly balanced and the upgraded suspension made the car seem to ride on rails.

He thought back to earlier that night. Racing down the pass had never felt so invigorating. Yashi really had a talent for teaching someone how to open up a pass. Nik was glad that he went to Okinawa…

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_Nik pulled the bottle of water away from his lips. He looked out over the sea visible after the cliff. Yashi had a sorta-nice house, but it did have a view. Nik smiled and stood up._

_He walked through the doorway into the garage which housed six cars. He stood and looked at the Nissan S30 he'd been driving since he had gotten here. It had a 2.8L straight 6 with a twin-turbo and it produced 320 WHP._

_The car also had an advantage that not many had. It had been tuned by Yashi. His cars were designed especially for Yashi's driving styles. He was teaching Nik one he thought Nik would the bond the most with. It was weight shift._

_He noticed that a lot of what Nik's drifting relied on was throttle response and weight shifting. With a good amount of horsepower, and responsive throttle could immediately cause wheel spin for instant traction loss without braking. Combined with high grip front tires and good heel-toe on the corner entrance, he could spin the entire car right around on the front tires._

_This combined with Nik's ability to control the weight of the car would create a way to drive a course on full throttle the entire way, with a properly adjusted car. Then his technique only needed to be fully adjusted._

_Yashi walked past Nik and got into the passenger seat of the S30. Nik got into the drivers seat and he slowly pulled onto the dirt road. He then drove to the end where it connected to the highway. _

_The tight, swerving highways were wide enough and delicate enough to practice full throttle drifting. This was a two lane highway, the third hardest road to drift on Okinawa. He had beaten it two days ago. _

_Today, he was headed for the hardest road in Okinawa. It was a one way road that was the only way to get into town besides taking the highway. It was off the highway. _

_Nik sped up to cruising speed and then got off two exits later. He went right to a stop sign and then left on the deserted, washed out road that bordered the beaches. Nik lit up the rear tires and slid onto the course before taking off. _

_Ocean winds blew sand onto the road, causing another danger. Nik felt a loss of traction when he shifted into third gear. The first set of corners quickly approached. Nik readied himself._

_He quickly heel-toe downshifted and felt the weight of the car unload on the front. He stomped on the throttle and got the car sideway before letting off and balancing the car._

_  
He carried the car thru the first turn and stayed on the throttle into the next turn. He didn't think very much when he drifted like this. He found by only needing to concentrate on one pedal, he greatly improved his turn-in and counter-steer angles._

_By constantly keeping the car sideways, he was able to turn more and use higher angles to take sharper corners faster. Although the car did slow down on its own, the RPM's stayed high as the tires kept spinning. This was a rally-racing technique._

_As he approached the next curve, he looked over at Yashi. The man was smiling. Nik smiled. Yashi always smiled whenever they'd go racing. He was never unhappy even in the worst instances. Nik always wondered why. _

_He let off the gas as they slowly cruised up to a stop sign in the center of town. He pulled out and they drove over to a small restaurant. He parked the car and they walked up and sat at a table._

_Yashi sipped his cup of tea and said, "Your quick mastery of the weight shift technique has impressed me. You may be home within a few weeks after all."_

_Nik nodded with a grim face, "I could be better…"_

"_They why aren't you?"_

"_I don't want to crash the car."_

_Yashi nodded, "I see…"_

"_What's that supposed to mean?!"_

"_You have the fear."_

"_What fear?"_

"_When you begin to lose stability, you freak out and forget what's going on. You know your limitations and you don't test them."_

"_What's wrong with that?"_

"_With that attitude, you can drive with any pro-driver. There is no normal driver you can't beat with that sort of approach to racing."_

"_But…."_

"_There are drivers out there that overlook fear like this. They just drive without any regard for safety. They just drive to their fullest limits and then they go faster."_

"_Can you teach me to drive like that?"_

_Yashi smirked, "I can't teach you to drive like that. You have to be born into being that driver."_

_Nik slammed his fist on the table, "Then why did you bring me here?!?! Just to toy with me?!!"_

_Yashi's face turned serious as he stared into Nik's eyes, "I can't drive that way. It's my only set back ever in racing."_

_Nik went silent as he watched the old man speak. Yashi closed his eyes and composed himself before saying, "I've only lost once. He was the only driver to ever drive that way. He was very skillful and a smart man but the only advantage he had on me was the fact that he could feel the road. He could take corners on that road like no one I had ever seen and no one I ever will."_

_Yashi's eyes opened and he looked back at Nik, "After that race, I retired and never spoke of that day again, but everyday it haunts me."_

_Nik opened his mouth slowly, trying to decide the correct words, "I'm sorry…I didn't…"_

_Yashi shook his head and the smile returned to his face, "Don't worry yourself thinking about things like that. Come on, lets go back to the house and get the RX-2, we need to practice some techniques with a more powerful motor."_

_Nik nodded and got back into the S30. He pulled away quietly and took the highway back to Yashi's house. The highway was a nice drive even just doing the speed limit. Nik smiled as he shifted into fifth gear._

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Nik sighed as he set the cup down on the railing. He walked back inside and into the garage where his car was not parked. He walked out the open door and got into his S-15. The Recarco seat hugged him tightly as he strapped into the four-way Takata harness.

He pushed in the clutch pedal and the car began to roll down the mountain. He turned the key so the car had power and began to coast down the mountain. After a quarter mile down he slid the car into third gear and released the clutch. The engine came to life at 2300 RPM.

As he slowly accelerated, everything around him became wavy. His vision tunneled in on the road and his body began to feel very tense. He shifted to fourth at 6600 rpm. As the first corner approached he came in and hit a late apex, sending him off in his own lane.

He looked at the road in front of him as it kept coming at him. He was doing almost 145 km/h. He looked up as the next corner came flying towards him. He stared directly at it as his grip on the steering wheel got tighter. He sighed.

"I can go faster…."

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Start waiting for third stage, peace 


End file.
